Hyundai Motor Group to Invest 125 Trillion Won Domestically Over 5 Years... Full Tariff Support for Suppliers

50.5 Trillion Won for New Businesses, 38.5 Trillion for R&D, 36.2 Trillion for Capital Expenditures
Record-Breaking Investment to Boost National Economic Vitality
Establishment of AI Data Center and AI Application Center

Hyundai Motor Group will invest a total of 125.2 trillion won in South Korea over the next five years, until 2030. This is the largest investment amount in the company's history.

In particular, the group plans not only to fully support the US tariffs borne by its primary suppliers this year, but also to revitalize local economies through investments in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and hydrogen, among others.

The domestic investment plan announced by Hyundai Motor Group on November 16 exceeds its domestic investment over the past five years by 40% (an increase of 36.1 trillion won), reaching 89.1 trillion won previously and now 125.2 trillion won. This equates to an average annual investment of 25.04 trillion won.

First, 50.5 trillion won will be invested in future new business areas such as AI, software-defined vehicles (SDV), electrification, robotics, and hydrogen. Additionally, 38.5 trillion won will be allocated to research and development (R&D) and 36.2 trillion won to capital expenditures to continuously strengthen the competitiveness of the mobility industry.

The group plans to diversify export destinations for domestic finished vehicle production plants and foster domestic electric vehicle-only factories as global mother factories and export bases to increase exports of domestically produced vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group aims to increase exports of finished vehicles from 2.18 million units last year to 2.47 million units in 2030, and to expand exports of electrified vehicles from 690,000 units last year to 1.76 million units in 2030, more than 2.5 times growth.

Recently, after announcing plans to strengthen collaboration with Nvidia, Hyundai Motor Group has been focusing on advancing its AI capabilities in areas such as in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, smart factories, and robotics.

The group is pursuing the construction of a high-power "AI data center" to process the massive amounts of data required for AI model training and operation. It will secure petabyte (PB)-scale data storage capable of storing AI training data generated by physical AI robots and autonomous vehicles.

The group also plans to establish the "Hyundai Motor Group Physical AI Application Center," which will play a central role in the development of the physical AI ecosystem. This innovative demonstration center is expected to verify the completeness and safety of robots that have learned large-scale behavioral data through AI, and to ultimately ensure their reliability before deployment in actual industrial sites.

Based on customer-tailored robotics technology, the group will also establish a "robot finished product manufacturing and foundry plant." This will expand from the group's own robot production to contract manufacturing for small and medium-sized enterprises lacking manufacturing expertise.

Yonhap News Agency

To develop the green energy ecosystem, the group will also invest in the development of water electrolysis equipment for green hydrogen production. It plans to build a 1GW-scale PEM water electrolysis plant in the southwestern region, which is rich in renewable energy, and to establish infrastructure such as a nearby hydrogen shipping center and charging stations. Facilities for manufacturing PEM electrolyzers and hydrogen fuel cell components will be established to foster these as global export industries.

Going forward, the group will actively consider investments to create a hydrogen AI smart city that incorporates Hyundai Motor Group's core new technologies such as AI, hydrogen, and V2X, in consultation with the government and local authorities.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group will continue to invest in upgrading production lines for the launch of dozens of new models over the next five years at its finished vehicle and parts plants in the southeastern region (Ulsan, Changwon), southwestern region (Gwangju, Jeonju), central region (Asan, Jincheon, Seosan, Chungju, Cheonan), Daegu-Gyeongbuk region (Daegu, Gyeongju, Gimcheon), and Gyeonggi Province (Hwaseong, Gwangmyeong, Pyeongtaek).

New factories will also be constructed. Next year, Hyundai Motor's dedicated EV plant in Ulsan will be completed, and a new hydrogen fuel cell plant in Ulsan is under construction with the goal of starting operations in 2027. Kia is also establishing a new dedicated electric vehicle base for purpose-built vehicles (PBV) in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Hyundai Steel is pursuing the construction of an LNG self-generation power plant at its Dangjin Steelworks in South Chungcheong Province, investing several hundred billion won to improve blast furnace efficiency. Hyundai Engineering is expanding the installation of charging stations and other infrastructure nationwide to address gaps in the electric vehicle charging network.

Yonhap News Agency

Specifically, new business investments will be strategically made in advanced fields that will shape future industries, such as AI autonomous driving, AI autonomous manufacturing, AI robotics, electrification and SDV, and hydrogen energy.

AI autonomous driving is a technology in which AI recognizes the vehicle's surroundings based on sensor data and makes real-time driving decisions. Hyundai Motor Group is developing autonomous driving technology with its end-to-end deep learning model-based "Atria AI," and is accelerating implementation through partnerships with 42dot and the autonomous driving joint venture Motional. The group is also focusing on developing future AI autonomous manufacturing technologies that minimize human intervention by integrating AI with robotics and digital twin technology, enabling AI to independently operate and optimize manufacturing processes.

The group is also accelerating the transition to SDV, as demonstrated by its recent announcement of the mobility software technology platform "Pleos." In the second half of 2026, it will unveil the "SDV Pace Car (test vehicle)" equipped with a centralized electric/electronic architecture that organically integrates vehicle hardware and software, and after technical validation, will expand its application to mass-produced vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Group will continue to strengthen its electrification capabilities, diversify its powertrain lineup with models such as EREV (extended-range electric vehicles) with driving ranges of over 900 km, and increase investment in battery technology localization. In addition, the group will accelerate the hydrogen energy business by building an ecosystem for the early realization of a hydrogen society across the entire value chain, including hydrogen production, supply, storage, and utilization.

R&D investments will be used to secure new products and core technology development to continuously strengthen the competitiveness of the mobility industry. The group is focusing on the development of rear-wheel-based hybrid systems, and the Namyang R&D Center is actively promoting region-specific vehicle and technology strategies that reflect the needs and environments of local consumers in major global markets.

Capital expenditures will be used to improve the efficiency of domestic production facilities, innovate manufacturing technology, and expand customer service hubs in preparation for changes in the future manufacturing environment.

GBC Design Rendering

Once the city of Seoul completes the permitting process, construction of the Hyundai Motor Group Global Business Complex (GBC) will begin in earnest. Expected to become a global innovation hub and a landmark representing South Korea, the GBC is projected to generate significant ripple effects, including the revitalization of commercial districts, both during construction and after completion.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group will retroactively and fully support the US tariffs borne by its primary suppliers this year. The group will also establish various win-win cooperation programs to extend benefits not only to primary suppliers but also to secondary and tertiary suppliers.

The group plans to reflect the tariffs incurred by primary suppliers that supply parts and other goods directly to Hyundai Motor Group's US production subsidiaries (HMGMA), Hyundai Motor Alabama Plant, and Kia Georgia Plant in the purchase price and provide support. The total amount of support will be finalized after compiling the export performance of primary suppliers in the future.

A Hyundai Motor Group official stated, "With the largest-ever mid- to long-term domestic investment and relentless innovation, we plan to contribute to revitalizing the South Korean economy. We will also focus on strengthening the global competitiveness of the domestic automotive industry by expanding tariff support and win-win cooperation programs for our suppliers."