Hyundai Motor will launch more than 100 new vehicles by 2030 and has raised its operating margin target to 9% or higher. Even amid U.S. tariffs, the Chinese EV offensive, and geopolitical risks, the South Korean automaker has raised its profitability bar and presented an aggressive growth strategy.

Hyundai Motor held its 2026 CEO Investor Day at the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Yeouido on the 26th, unveiling its mid- to long-term strategy and financial plans to investors and analysts. President and CEO José Muñoz said, “Hyundai’s fundamentals are stronger than ever,” adding, “We will launch more models, offer customers more powertrain choices, and aggressively enter new segments and new markets.”

The 100-plus new vehicles planned by 2030 include full model changes, facelifts, and derivative trims. Of these, at least 18 are entirely new models entering segments where Hyundai currently has no offerings. The approach is to launch global new vehicles on a common platform, then expand into region-specific derivative and specialized models.

To support this, global production capacity will expand by 1.27 million units by 2030: 500,000 units in North America, 320,000 in India, 200,000 in South Korea, and 250,000 in CKD (semi-knockdown) production. This is 70,000 units higher than the 1.2 million-unit expansion plan announced last year. The global sales target remains unchanged at 5.55 million units for Hyundai and Genesis combined, with electrified vehicles accounting for 60% of sales.

In the first half of this year, hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) sales reached 363,000 units, up 18% year-over-year, and revenue hit a record 95.2 trillion won (approximately $68.8 billion) for a half-year period. Building on this core business strength, Hyundai raised its 2030 consolidated operating margin target from the previous 8–9% to 9% or higher. Total operating profit is now expected to increase 11% compared to the prior plan. The cost of goods sold ratio will be reduced by 3 percentage points from the original plan by 2030.

Regional localization strategies have been refined. In North America, Hyundai will launch 10 new HEV models by 2030, led by the GV80 Hybrid, to achieve a 50% HEV sales mix. Starting in the first half of next year, the Santa Fe EREV (extended-range electric vehicle) will enter the U.S. market. In Europe, EV sales will grow to 420,000 units by 2030—nearly four times last year’s 116,000 units. In India, Hyundai will expand SUV sales to 80% of the mix and achieve over 90% parts localization to strengthen cost competitiveness. The China subsidiary plans to grow sales to 500,000 units by 2030 based on its localization strategy.

Robotaxi Foundry and Humanoid Robots

In future businesses, the expansion of robotaxi contract manufacturing (foundry) stands out. Hyundai Motor will supply Ioniq 5-based robotaxis produced at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia to Waymo starting in the fourth quarter of this year. There have been prior reports that Hyundai is pursuing a plan to supply 50,000 units to Waymo. At an estimated price of approximately $50,000 per vehicle (about 69 million won), this would represent expected revenue of $2.5 billion (approximately 3.5 trillion won).

Motional, the autonomous driving joint venture in which Hyundai holds a stake, will also begin commercializing Ioniq 5 robotaxis by year-end. Motional has previously operated an Ioniq 5-based robotaxi pilot service with Uber in Las Vegas and plans to expand into Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

Hyundai is also accelerating the commercialization of manufacturing AI robots with Boston Dynamics. The company plans to expand the Robot Metaplant Application Center (RMAC) site in Georgia—which opened in June—to ten times its current size by year-end, and train manufacturing AI robots in environments replicating actual worksites. Starting in 2028, the industrial humanoid robot “Atlas” will be deployed at HMGMA.

President Muñoz emphasized, “Based on strategic partnerships, we will advance future new technologies, create new opportunities, and transform into a physical AI company that produces and deploys robots and robotaxis.”

Autonomous Driving Roadmap and Data Flywheel

In software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and autonomous driving, Hyundai is focused on building a “data flywheel” system where data collection, analysis, AI improvement, and over-the-air (OTA) software update deployment form a virtuous cycle. The sensor and data systems of Hyundai, Kia, 42dot, and Motional will be standardized on the Nvidia ecosystem.

The autonomous driving commercialization roadmap has also been concretized. By year-end, the autonomous driving solution “Atria AI” will be deployed in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, to gather data on unexpected situations. In 2028, through strategic collaboration with Nvidia, Level 2+ autonomous driving technology will be applied to the first SDV production model. The goal is to subsequently expand Atria AI applications to build an autonomous driving lineup spanning Level 2+ to Level 4.

Starting in 2029, when autonomous driving data begins to surge, the Saemangeum AI data center will come online. It is a 100-megawatt (MW)-class facility capable of accommodating more than 50,000 graphics processing units (GPUs). Hyundai expects to leverage data collected from the group’s mass-produced vehicles—which exceed 7 million units in annual sales—for AI training to dramatically improve autonomous driving performance.

Battery Internalization Strategy

In batteries, Hyundai unveiled its in-house high-performance cells for the first time. Compared to existing high-nickel batteries, output performance is more than doubled while charging time is reduced by 40%. These batteries will first be applied to the EREV launching in the first half of next year.

The Santa Fe EREV will be produced locally at Hyundai’s Alabama plant in the U.S., combining two electric motors with the new high-performance battery to target a driving range of over 600 miles (approximately 966 km). The Genesis EREV is scheduled for release in early 2027, targeting over 640 miles (approximately 1,030 km). EREVs are driven by electric motors, but when battery charge runs low, the engine acts as a generator to recharge the battery. The plan is to reduce battery capacity to less than 50% of a typical EV while still delivering the distinctive driving feel of an electric vehicle through the high output performance of the in-house cells.

Mid-nickel NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) batteries will be applied to high-volume EVs launching next year. These offer approximately 30% more energy capacity than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries of the same volume. The cloud-based battery management system (BMS) aims to extend average battery life by 20% by 2028.

As a safety technology, Hyundai has newly developed “Thermal Runaway Prevention (TRP)” technology. It structurally blocks high heat from a single cell from spreading to neighboring cells and separately vents high-temperature gases. The technology was first applied to the Genesis flagship electric SUV GV90, which was unveiled this month. Hyundai explained that it has conducted more than 200 repeated tests on prismatic and pouch-type NCM batteries, and that TRP technology can be applied regardless of battery form factor.

Shareholder Return Policy

For shareholder returns, Hyundai will maintain a total payout ratio of 35% or higher and a minimum dividend of 10,000 won (approximately $7.2) per share. The company disclosed on the same day that it will retire all treasury shares held for purposes other than employee compensation—valued at approximately 800 billion won (approximately $578.1 million) based on the previous day’s closing price. To improve communication with the market, the English name of the total shareholder return metric will be changed from TSR (Total Shareholder Return) to TPR (Total Payout Ratio).

Genesis will enter five additional European markets—Austria, Denmark, Poland, and Portugal—starting with Spain in the fourth quarter of this year through next year. The brand plans to expand into India and ASEAN markets, targeting sales of 350,000 units across approximately 40 countries worldwide by 2030.

On the EV chasm (temporary demand slowdown), President Muñoz said, “I believe there is no longer an EV chasm,” adding, “Only the pace differs by region.” In the U.S. market, he said EREVs “will be pioneers,” explaining that they will offer customers flexibility and diverse options. Regarding a potential Boston Dynamics IPO, he stated that “nothing has been decided” and that the company is internally reviewing the optimal options.