Hyundai Motor's market capitalization topped 100 trillion won intraday for the first time in about 51 years since its listing. Until the end of last year, it was weighed down by high U.S. tariffs and skepticism over falling behind in Autonomous Driving, but at the start of the year it proved the feasibility of commercializing a Humanoid Robot and is being re-evaluated as a "physical artificial intelligence (AI with a physical presence such as robots and cars)" corporations. Analysts say the future path of Hyundai Motor's share price depends on the pace of progress in Robotics and Autonomous Driving.
According to the Korea Exchange (KRX) on the 20th, at 9:01 a.m. that day Hyundai Motor shares were up 3.44% from the previous trading day to 496,500 won. The resulting market cap was 101.6622 trillion won. It has been 51 years and 6 months since June 28, 1974, that Hyundai Motor's market cap broke through 100 trillion won.
Hyundai Motor's market cap was only 61.1202 trillion won on the 2nd, the first trading day of the year, but has since surged more than 60%. As of 11:08 a.m. that day, the stock's gain had narrowed to 0.52%, trading at 482,500 won. The market cap edged down to 98.4885 trillion won.
The turning point for Hyundai Motor's share price was "CES 2026" in Las Vegas earlier this year. There, Hyundai Motor's Robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics unveiled the new Humanoid Robot "Atlas." It not only showcased technology of a completeness that exceeded market expectations, but also presented a concrete roadmap for commercialization.
This is why the stock jumped 13.8% in a single day on the 6th from the previous day. Kim Seong-rae, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "Robot technology that had stayed at the research stage proved that it can be deployed and commercialized in industrial sites and everyday life."
Expectations for Autonomous Driving also pushed up Hyundai Motor's share price. On the 13th, Hyundai Motor Group hired Park Min-woo, who led Autonomous Driving technology development at Tesla and Nvidia, as head (president) of the Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division and CEO of 42dot.
In December last year, after Song Chang-hyeon, the former AVP head in charge of the group's future car strategy, resigned, it became known that Autonomous Driving development was not going smoothly at Hyundai Motor Group, fueling perceptions that it had fallen behind in the race. With Park's appointment, expectations formed that execution of the future car strategy could regain momentum, and the stock also rose 10.6% that day.
The market now sees Hyundai Motor as needing to be evaluated not as a finished car corporations but by the standards of an "AI platform" corporations. Lim Eun-young, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said, "As Hyundai Motor's robot business roadmap becomes more concrete, a redefinition of the peer group is needed," adding, "There are only six companies in the global market pushing to expand into electric vehicles, Autonomous Driving, and robots." Lim cited U.S. Tesla and China's Xpeng, Xiaomi, and BYD as peers.
Improved earnings prospects also helped Hyundai Motor's corporate value. A representative factor is that losses have decreased as high U.S. tariffs were lowered from 25% to 15% starting in Nov. last year. According to FnGuide, brokerages expect Hyundai Motor's operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year to be 2.6629 trillion won, down 5.6% from a year earlier but up 5.0% from the previous quarter.
Yoon Hyuk-jin, an analyst at SK Securities, said, "Solid results are expected thanks to rising hybrid vehicle sales and favorable exchange rates," adding, "We raise our target price for Hyundai Motor to 550,000 won by adding 85.5 trillion won for the auto business and 26.8 trillion won for the robot business." Another positive factor is that its U.S. market share has entered an upward trajectory. Mirae Asset Securities projected Hyundai Motor Group's U.S. market share will rise to 13.7% in 2027 from 10.6% in 2024, calculating that each 1 percentage point of share adds more than 1 trillion won in profit.
However, some say Robotics and Autonomous Driving, which played a decisive role in lifting the stock, could turn into downside factors for the share price if mishandled.
Hyundai Motor has said it will open the Robot Meta Plant Application Center (RMAC), a robot training facility, in the United States this year, deploy Atlas to real work sites in 2028, and build a production system for 30,000 units. If this roadmap encounters setbacks, market expectations could turn into concern.
In Autonomous Driving, a software-defined vehicle (SDV) pace car unveiling is scheduled for the third quarter this year. Analyst Yoon said, "The narratives (messages) and the speed of progress in Autonomous Driving and robots will determine the future share price."