Hyundai said it plans to invest more than $10 billion to accelerate electrification and autonomous vehicle technology in the US by 2025.
Part of that fund includes $5.5 billion it has earmarked for a New EV factory and battery production facility in Georgia that Hyundai announced Friday. Unaffiliated providers are contribute another 1 billion dollars into that project, pushing the total cost to $6.5 billion.
The remaining $4.5 billion of Hyundai’s total US investment will be used in what the automaker has identified as “a key future business”. In Hyundai’s view, the future key business areas shift towards robotics, AI technology, advanced aerial mobility and autonomous driving capabilities. Notably, Hyundai said it will invest its funds through joint ventures and subsidiaries.
This investment will also help Hyundai upgrade R&D activities for the Kia and Genesis brands, the company said.
EVs and batteries
The new electric vehicle plant is the largest economic development deal Georgia has hired, according to officials. The 2,923-acre site is expected to break ground early next year and begin commercial production in the first half of 2025 with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.
These activities will help Hyundai aim to become the leading electric vehicle supplier in the US by 2026. Primarily powered by renewable energy sources, the plant will use a flexible production system, highly connected, where robots will assist workers, Hyundai said.
Hyundai says the plant will produce some of the 23 EVs it plans to launch by 2025. The battery production facility will help Hyundai establish a stable supply chain.
Robot
In 2020, Hyundai acquired 80% of shares from SoftBank in Boston Dynamics, in a deal that values the mobile robotics company at $1.1 billion. Part of the $10 billion investment announced Sunday will go towards creating a robotics value chain, from component manufacturing to logistics.
Boston Dynamics has launched its first two commercial robots, Spot and Stretch, to work in a variety of industries. Spot is being mined for use in the power, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas and mining industries. Stretch, which is a robotic arm that moves boxes, is being marketed for use in warehouse facilities and distribution centers.
The money will also support Hyundai’s subsidiary New Horizons Studio, which works on Ultimate Mobility Vehicles such as Tiger, an autonomous freight carrier about the size of a carry-on suitcase.
AV
In 2019, Hyundai established a $4 billion joint venture with Aptiva global provider of developing AV technology. MotivationThe resulting AV technology company, is currently testing autonomous driving technology on car-sharing apps Lyft and Via in Las Vegas.
Hyundai says it will “actively support Motional,” meaning the company intends to invest more money in the joint venture as it moves toward commercial operations.
Motional will place Hyundai robotaxis, based on The brand’s Ioniq 5 EV, on Lyft’s network in Las Vegas next year, Chief Technology Officer Laura Major said at the TechCrunch Mobility conference on Wednesday. The vehicles will come with a human-safe operator but must be able to navigate the hotel’s drop-off and pick-up operations automatically.
Move the air
With an eye towards the sky, Hyundai debuted last year Supernal is based in Washington DC to figure out how to integrate air mobility into existing networks for intermodal travel.
The joint venture is developing an app for customers to plan their journey using a combination of car, train, advanced air mobility, eVTOL and e-scooter. It aims to start commercial operations in 2028.
