Jeong Eui-sun Overcomes Crisis with Robots

Hyundai Motor Acquires 'Boston Dynamics'
Chairman Chung Euisun Invests 240 Billion Won of Personal Funds
Chung Mongkoo Recalls Bold Move to Acquire Kia

Quadruped Robot Spot

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Chung Euisun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, has fulfilled his promise made a year ago to expand the 'robot business' by investing his personal funds. This was achieved through the acquisition of the U.S. company Boston Dynamics, which possesses world-class technology. Just as Honorary Chairman Chung Mongkoo acquired Kia Motors during the foreign exchange crisis and grew it into the world's fifth-largest automobile company, Chairman Chung is also securing future growth engines and pioneering new markets by acquiring a robotics company with great potential amid the COVID-19 crisis.

According to the business community on the 14th, Chairman Chung's decision to acquire an 80% stake (worth approximately 950 billion KRW) in Boston Dynamics together with three Hyundai Motor Group affiliates?Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, and Hyundai Glovis?expresses his determination to rapidly transform the existing internal combustion engine vehicle-centered business into a robot-centered 'smart mobility solution company.' Chairman Chung has consistently emphasized the 'smart mobility solution company' vision whenever opportunities arose. At a town hall meeting last October, he stated, "50% of Hyundai Motor Group's future business will be automobiles, 30% will be UAM, and 20% will be robotics." It is also analyzed that Chairman Chung's personal investment of 238.9 billion KRW in the Boston Dynamics acquisition was a declaration of this intent both internally and externally.

When viewed as a case of acquiring management rights rather than a joint venture, this acquisition is comparable to Honorary Chairman Chung’s successful acquisition of Kia Motors. Hyundai Motor acquired Kia Motors, which was struggling due to the 1998 foreign exchange crisis, for about 1.2 trillion KRW. Subsequently, in 2000, Hyundai Motor Group was launched as an automobile-specialized group, successfully revitalizing Kia Motors.

Hyundai Motor Group is expected to generate synergy in the robotics field through this acquisition. First, by linking with Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, the business scope is expected to expand from entering the robotics market to smart logistics solutions. Additionally, it has become possible to build a new value chain centered on robots, such as automation in manufacturing sites. New business opportunities may also be explored in the 'Last Mile,' the final stage of mobility.

Lee Sanghyun, an analyst at IBK Securities, said, "This merger and acquisition (M&A) is evaluated as Hyundai Motor Group accelerating digital transformation after COVID-19," adding, "Previous major shareholders such as Google and SoftBank were not manufacturing companies with large-scale production facilities, so the synergy with Hyundai Motor Group is likely to be the greatest."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.