November 21, 2024

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[ET NEWS] Hyundai Motor and its Swiss partner Sensirion are working on in-car dust-monitoring technology with aims to adopt the sensor for passenger cars in two to three years, industry sources said on Aug. 25.

Some premium vehicles come with air-cleaning system but no car has the dust-monitoring sensor due to technological difficulties. German luxury carmakers such BMW and Mercedes-Benz are also said to be carrying out related research work. 

The Hyundai sensor will detect fine dust, toxic chemical and other dust particles inside a car and alert drivers of the air pollution level. The sensor is also expected to be connected to an automatic air-conditioning system.

A range of experiments have shown that drivers inside vehicles are exposed to far higher levels of air pollution than those walking on the roads. When inhaled for a long term, the particles can cause respiratory diseases, including cancer.

Sources said the issue is pricing. Unlike cheaper China-made sensors used in air cleaners for home, the price of the in-car sensors is expected to soar as they are required to endure extreme weather conditions like other car parts.

Hyundai reportedly plans to adopt the system for high-trim cars first and then extend to lower-end models.

“Many carmakers are paying keen attention to in-car dust monitoring to launch the first product faster than rivals,” an industry source said. “The key is securing higher sensitivity.”

By Park So-ra (srpark@etnews.com) (jylee@heraldcorp.com)
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