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Business Hyundai Motor Group to Foster Advanced Industry Hub in Korea’s Yeongnam Region to Spur Future Growth
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Business Hyundai Motor Group to Foster Advanced Industry Hub in Korea’s Yeongnam Region to Spur Future Growth
Hyundai Motor Group to Foster Advanced Industry Hub in Korea’s Yeongnam Region to Spur Future Growth
SEOUL, July 3, 2026 – Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) today unveiled a comprehensive blueprint to foster an advanced industry hub in Korea’s Yeongnam region to accelerate its future growth. To execute this initiative, the Group plans to invest KRW42 trillion in the region over the 10-year period beginning this year.
The Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on investments for advanced industry development in the Yeongnam region with government ministries—the Ministry of Finance and Economy, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, and Ministry of Planning and Budget—and five local authorities from Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, Gyeongnam Province, and Gyeongbuk Province during a government conference.
By making additional investments in new business sectors across the Yeongnam region, which is the foundation of Hyundai Motor Group, we will develop it into a key hub for future advanced industries and contribute to strengthening Korea's industrial competitiveness.
Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group will make strategic investments across the Yeongnam region in five sectors:
Through these investments, the Group plans to secure fundamental growth drivers and accelerate its transformation into a future technology company that aims to change the quality of human life. Alongside the ongoing Saemangeum project, the Group will develop an advanced industry ecosystem encompassing Manufacturing AI, aerospace and space industries, and energy infrastructure to foster regional balanced development, create jobs, and enhance Korea’s economic vitality.
The Group will accelerate the transformation of Hyundai Motor Company's Ulsan plant—the world's largest single integrated automotive manufacturing facility—into a core hub for the future mobility industry. The Group plans to position the plant as a strategic center for Korea's future industries.
The Group will establish AI DV manufacturing hub featuring advanced automation and an integrated production system, including its Ulsan EV-dedicated plant scheduled to begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year. The Group is accelerating the development of AI Defined Vehicles (AI DV) with Level 4 or higher automation, achieving robotaxi-capable autonomous driving technology.
AI DVs leverage artificial intelligence to continuously learn from vehicle data and make autonomous decisions, forming a key part of the Group's strategy to strengthen its leadership in the increasingly competitive global mobility market.
The Ulsan hydrogen fuel cell plant will be constructed as a strategic production base supporting the expansion of hydrogen mobility and clean energy industries. Next-generation hydrogen fuel cells mass-produced at this facility, along with polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis systems that produce clean hydrogen through water electrolysis, will serve as next-generation flagship export products.
The Group will also establish future core component clusters across the Yeongnam region by 2030: a Hyundai Mobis battery system assembly line in Ulsan, a Hyundai Mobis motor and control unit production line in Daegu, and a Hyundai Wia electric vehicle thermal management system production line in Changwon. These investments will strengthen value chain competitiveness through advanced electrification technology development.
The Group is advancing intelligent manufacturing innovation based on Manufacturing AI technology at a rapid pace.
The Group’s envisioned Manufacturing AI-based intelligent factory aims to leverage AI to independently evaluate and optimize all factory operations—including production equipment, logistics, and quality management—creating optimal production synergies.
The Yeongnam region, home to large-scale manufacturing facilities of the Group, provides a suitable environment for implementing advanced manufacturing technologies. The Group plans to apply AI technologies developed globally to optimize manufacturing operations, utilizing operational data from its worldwide manufacturing facilities.
The Group is expanding its business scope into future aerospace and space mobility, ranging from urban air mobility to lunar exploration.
Additionally, the Group plans to develop capabilities in space applications, including lunar exploration rovers with autonomous driving and AI capabilities, by leveraging expertise from its automobile and robotics programs.
Investments are planned to secure stable and sustainable energy supply—identified as a critical competitive factor for future industries.
The Group aims to diversify energy sources through energy infrastructure development, including small modular reactors (SMRs), offshore wind power, and water electrolysis plants, with plans to cultivate these as next-generation export solutions.
Danny Joo
kyungdon@hyundai.com
Global PR Team 1 · Hyundai Motor Company
Disclaimer: Hyundai Motor Group believes the information contained herein to be accurate at the time of release. However, the company may upload new or updated information if required and assumes that it is not liable for the accuracy of any information interpreted and used by the reader.
About Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group is a global enterprise that has created a value chain based on mobility, steel, and construction, as well as logistics, finance, IT, and service. With about 250,000 employees worldwide, the Group’s mobility brands include Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. Armed with creative thinking, cooperative communication and the will to take on any challenges, we strive to create a better future for all.
More information about Hyundai Motor Group can be found at:
http://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com or Newsroom: Media Hub by Hyundai, Kia Global Newsroom, Genesis Newsroom
