José Muñoz, president of Hyundai Motor, said this year's management direction is to "accelerate the transition from an automaker to a technology company." He plans to strengthen local production systems to expand global capacity to 1.2 million vehicles a year and launch region-specific products tailored to diverse global customer needs.
At the 58th annual shareholders meeting held at Hyundai Motor headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, Muñoz said, "Changes that will radically transform the mobility industry over the next 10 or so years are already reshaping the sector," and announced that this year the company will prioritize three key strategies: ▲ strengthening localization strategies ▲ reinforcing region-specific product strategies ▲ accelerating the transition to a technology company.
Regarding accelerating the shift to a technology company, Muñoz emphasized, "We will leap beyond corporations that simply produce vehicles to become a company that builds the intelligent systems that manufacture and move them."
He said, "Based on a new leadership framework, we are advancing the Pleos technology platform," adding, "In particular, we will accelerate Autonomous Driving technology development to deliver innovative driving experiences in more vehicles." Earlier this year, Hyundai Motor Group appointed Park Min-woo, head of 42dot and president in charge of Hyundai Motor's Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP), as a new Deputy Minister.
He explained, "Collaboration with Nvidia, investments in 42dot and Motional, the partnership with Waymo, and the establishment of an AI data center in Korea are core activities to secure technological competitiveness."
In Robotics, he said preparations are underway to deploy Boston Dynamics' Humanoid Robot Atlas to actual production sites. Through this, the company plans to build a robot production system with an annual capacity of 30,000 units by 2028. Muñoz said, "We plan to secure an overwhelming technology ecosystem through physical AI infrastructure cooperation with Google DeepMind and Nvidia."
The company will also fully strengthen its localization strategy. It will begin full-scale operation of the new U.S. plant (HMGMA) and start producing hybrid vehicles in the United States. In addition, Muñoz said, "We will build new production hubs in India, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam to reinforce a local production system that manufactures more vehicles closer to customers," adding, "By 2030, at the group level, we will expand global production capacity to 1.2 million vehicles a year and strengthen structural competitiveness to cope with trade risks."
The company will also put more weight behind its region-specific product strategy. In China, it plans to launch 20 new models over the next five years. Following last year's China-only electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) "Elexio," it plans to unveil a new electric sedan this year. The future sales target is set at 500,000 vehicles a year, double the previous goal.
In Europe, starting with the unveiling of the "Ioniq 3" at Milan Design Week next month, the company will launch five new models over the next 18 months and said it will offer eco-friendly variants for all models by 2027. Muñoz said, "In India, we plan to unveil our first locally designed and developed electric SUV in early 2027, invest $5 billion by 2030, expand the Pune plant's capacity by 250,000 units, and roll out 26 new models over the next 10 years," adding, "In 2027, we are also considering Genesis' entry into India."
For the domestic market, he said, "Following last year's strong-performing Palisade, the new Ioniq 9, and the modified Ioniq 6, we plan to launch next-generation models of the Tucson and Avante this year."
Muñoz also said he will continue to pursue shareholder return policies and activities to enhance corporate value. He said, "We have set the 2025 annual dividend at 10,000 won per share," adding, "We will continue to maintain a transparent and clear shareholder return policy."