There was an outlook that the manufacturing cost of Atlas, a Humanoid Robot developed by Robotics affiliate Boston Dynamics and unveiled by Hyundai Motor Group at CES 2026, the world's largest home appliance and information technology (IT) exhibition earlier this month, will fall as production volume increases.
On the 25th, Samsung Securities said Atlas's initial production cost is $130,000–$140,000 (189.06 million–203.6 million won) per unit. However, if 10,000 units of Atlas are produced, the unit production cost is estimated to fall to $50,000. When 30,000 units are produced, the production cost is expected to drop to $35,000 (50.9 million won), or about 25% of the initial level, and if 50,000 units are produced, the production cost is projected to fall to $30,000 (about 43.63 million won).
Samsung Securities estimated, "Because cars have complex parts, the break-even point (BEP) is 100,000 units per model and 200,000–300,000 units per plant, but robots reach economies of scale at the parts level at 10,000 units, and the BEP per plant is in the 20,000–30,000 range."
Samsung Securities also said labor costs will ease with robot adoption, lowering automobile production costs. Annual labor costs in the U.S. institutional sector of manufacturing are $70,000–$80,000 (101.8 million–116.34 million won). Considering that Atlas can operate 24 hours by exchanging batteries, the hourly wage equivalent for the initial production model can be set at $9.4 (14,000 won). If more than 30,000 robots are produced, the robot's hourly wage equivalent falls to $1.2 (1,745 won), about one-sixth of China's labor cost.
Samsung Securities said, "If Atlas is deployed to Hyundai and Kia plants, the share of labor costs, which accounts for 7%–8% of manufacturing cost, will decline, leading to lower production costs," adding, "Depending on the speed of robot deployment, a 1 percentage point (P) drop in costs is expected each year."
Samsung Securities predicted, "Boston Dynamics will seek to secure customers outside Hyundai Motor Group from 2027," adding, "In the early stages of Atlas production, it will be distributed to Hyundai and Kia plants, making it difficult for Hyundai Motor to recognize robot revenue, but as robot sales expand to parts makers and customers outside the group, it will recognize 1 trillion won in robot revenue starting in 2029."