"Creating the Safest Aircraft"... Hyundai Motor Introduces UAM Vision at General Meeting

Hyundai Motor Company held an unusual separate briefing on future industries at its shareholders' meeting. This appears to signify that sharing the vision, as well as increasing dividends, is important for strengthening communication with shareholders.

Jaewon Shin, President and Head of Hyundai Motor's AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) Division, stated at the 56th regular shareholders' meeting held on the 21st at Hyundai Motor's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, "We will develop the safest aircraft that meets the same safety standards as the aviation industry."

After achieving record-high performance last year, Hyundai Motor is increasing its dividend rate and expanding touchpoints with shareholders. This briefing for shareholders is also part of such efforts to strengthen shareholder communication. In particular, Supernal, the independent UAM (Urban Air Mobility) subsidiary established in 2021, saw its operating losses expand to 526.3 billion KRW last year due to increased aircraft development costs. It is true that shareholders' concerns grew during this process.

Shin Jaewon, Head of Hyundai Motor Company's AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) Division (President), is introducing Hyundai Motor Group's UAM (Urban Air Mobility) strategy at the regular shareholders' meeting held on the 21st at Hyundai Motor's headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor]

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To alleviate these concerns, President Shin introduced the concept aircraft 'S-A2,' targeting commercialization in 2028, and explained Hyundai Motor Group's reasons and goals for AAM development, as well as its differentiated competitiveness. He emphasized, "A new quiet and eco-friendly air service will improve the quality of human life by escaping ground traffic congestion and reducing travel time."

The S-A2 aims to carry five people including the pilot, flying a distance of 60 km at a maximum speed of 200 km/h. It applies a 'distributed electric propulsion' system that independently drives each rotor, and each rotor is designed with dual motors to ensure safe operation even in case of a failure.

Hyundai Motor Group highlighted 'safety' as its strength in the UAM field. The strategy is to develop aircraft that meet current passenger aircraft safety standards to secure a market competitive edge in terms of safety. President Shin said, "The principle of safety first is an essential condition for UAM to be recognized as a public transportation means."

Joining the effort was aerospace expert Professor Jiyoon Lee from KAIST's Department of Aerospace Engineering, who was appointed as an outside director of Hyundai Motor. He said, "Competitors aim for safety standards at the level of light aircraft, while Supernal targets safety standards at the level of civil aviation certification. If a very high safety standard allowing only one error in a billion operations is met, it will minimize additional time delays or cost risks during future certification processes."

Secondly, Hyundai Motor emphasized overcoming commercialization challenges by building partnerships with first-tier suppliers in the aviation industry and innovative startups. Additionally, as it pioneers the new field of UAM, the company plans to collaborate with global certification bodies in the U.S. and Europe to jointly develop regulations and laws.

Lastly, Hyundai Motor Group expressed confidence in introducing competitively priced aircraft by leveraging its mass production technologies and capabilities. The current industry estimate for the price of a UAM aircraft is around 3 million USD (approximately 4 billion KRW). President Shin stated, "Mass production capabilities such as automated processes are strengths rarely found in the aviation industry, which mostly uses manual production methods. This will be a driving force to gain market dominance with competitive pricing during the market expansion phase."

Meanwhile, at the shareholders' meeting, all agenda items, including approval of financial statements, appointment of three inside directors including CEO Jang Jae-hoon, appointment of outside directors and audit committee members, and approval of director remuneration limits, were passed as originally proposed.

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