Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon announces investment plans at a public briefing on the advanced industry development vision for the Yeongnam region held in South Gyeongsang Province on the 3rd. Cheong Wa Dae Press Corps
Hyundai Motor Group will invest 42 trillion won over the next decade to build bases including a hub for “AI-based vehicles (AI DV)” in Korea’s Yeongnam region.
Hyundai Motor Group unveiled the plan the previous day at the “National Report on the Yeongnam Advanced Industry Development Vision,” held in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, and chaired by President Lee Jae-myung, according to industry sources Tuesday.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to build an AI DV manufacturing hub centered on Ulsan, where its automobile production base is located. An AI DV is a vehicle whose onboard AI learns various data, assesses conditions such as road situations, and drives itself. Hyundai Motor Group plans to use the “Ulsan EV” plant, scheduled to begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year, as a base to expand the related manufacturing ecosystem in adjacent areas.
The group will also create a future vehicle parts cluster to expand electric vehicle production. Specifically, it plans to secure new processes in each region by 2030, including a battery system assembly line in Ulsan (Hyundai Motor), a motor and controller production line in Daegu (Hyundai Mobis), and an electric vehicle thermal management system production line in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province (Hyundai Wia).
Hyundai Motor Group also plans to build a hydrogen industry ecosystem in the region by starting early operations at its Ulsan hydrogen fuel cell plant. The plant, scheduled to begin operations in 2027, will produce 30,000 fuel cells per year.
Hyundai Motor Group also decided to expand its investment in the aerospace industry. Supernal, an advanced air mobility (AAM) company it established in the United States, will develop next-generation aircraft based on electrified powertrains in cooperation with Yeongnam companies such as KAI, located in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province. Hyundai Motor said, “We will pursue the localization of core space industry technologies, including the development of a lunar exploration rover applying autonomous driving technologies accumulated in the process of developing automobiles and robots.”
To expand energy infrastructure in the Yeongnam region, the group will also pursue plans to secure small modular reactors (SMRs), offshore wind power, and water electrolysis plants in the region.
Chang Jae-hoon, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said, “We will make additional investments in new business areas in the Yeongnam region, which is Hyundai Motor Group’s birthplace, to nurture it as a core base for future advanced industries and contribute to strengthening Korea’s industrial competitiveness.”
