Hyundai Motor Group is exploring the possibility of selling humanoid and quadruped robots through its network of car dealerships, a move that would push Boston Dynamics’ machines beyond factory floors and into the hands of a broader set of buyers.
“We have existing potential distribution for selling robots through our dealer partners,” José Muñoz, Hyundai’s chief executive, said during the company’s investor day. He added that Hyundai Capital, the automaker’s financing arm, is looking at whether it could extend credit for robot purchases in the same way it finances vehicles.
The comments mark the clearest signal yet that Hyundai sees a commercial path for the robotics business it acquired in 2021, when it took an 80 percent controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in a deal valuing the company at $1.1 billion.
Boston Dynamics currently sells Spot, a four-legged robot used for industrial inspections, and Stretch, a wheeled, single-armed machine designed to unload boxes from trucks and shipping containers. Hyundai has used Spot robots at its own facilities for inspections and predictive maintenance, and has said the machines would inspect vehicle exteriors in the weld shop at its Georgia Metaplant, which builds the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 EVs.
Next in the pipeline is Atlas, the company’s humanoid robot with a torso that can swivel 180 degrees. Muñoz said Hyundai would soon begin mass-producing Atlas. The automaker has announced plans for a factory capable of producing 30,000 Atlas units annually by 2028, with deployment at the Georgia plant beginning that same year before expanding to all global production sites.
Pricing remains a hurdle. Spot previously started at $74,500, though buyers now must contact the company for a quote. Advanced humanoid robots built for commercial tasks are considerably more expensive. That cost structure may explain why Hyundai Capital is examining financing options, though Hyundai representatives did not immediately clarify whether Muñoz was describing sales to individual consumers, commercial customers, or both.
Hyundai is far from alone in pushing robots into automotive operations. Tesla is installing its first Optimus production lines in Fremont, California, at a plant that previously built the Model S and Model X. Chief Executive Elon Musk has said Optimus could eventually perform work in factories and homes. BMW has used Figure’s humanoid robots at its Spartanburg, South Carolina, assembly plant, where the machines moved and sorted heavy auto components. Mercedes-Benz is testing Apptronik’s Apollo humanoid, which delivers parts to workers and inspects components. Agility Robotics signed a deal to bring its humanoid robots to Toyota’s Canadian manufacturing plants.
For now, factories and warehouses remain the most realistic commercial settings. Stretch is unloading trucks for logistics firms such as DHL and Maersk, while Amazon and GXO have trialed Agility Robotics’ Digit for repetitive container-moving work.
Consumer-ready humanoids are much rarer. Norwegian startup 1X is taking deposits for NEO, a home robot that costs $20,000 to own, with first US deliveries expected this year. Chinese robotics company Unitree sells humanoids online, including the $13,500 G1 and $4,900 R1, though those machines are marketed largely to researchers, developers, schools, and enthusiasts.
The broader question hanging over Hyundai’s dealership vision is who would actually buy these robots. Companies routinely frame robotics as a solution for dangerous or exhausting jobs and a way to fill labor shortages rather than replace workers. But a machine that runs long shifts without wages, holidays, or sick leave poses an obvious competitive threat to human labor. Whether consumers ever buy an Atlas alongside an Ioniq remains to be seen, but commercial robots are already clocking in.