Hyundai Motor Group has formed an alliance with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to target the advanced air mobility (AAM) market. Hyundai Motor focused on developing its own technology for the past several years, but as rivals such as Toyota, which teamed up with a specialist air mobility company, pulled ahead, it is seen as ultimately deciding to join hands with KAI.
According to the mobility industry on the 23rd, Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) titled "a business agreement for joint development of future air mobility aircraft based on electrified aviation powertrains" at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on the 8th, with Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon and KAI President Kim Jong-chul in attendance.
The MOU calls for cooperation across the entire process of AAM commercialization, from aircraft development to mass production. KAI will handle AAM aircraft, and Hyundai Motor Group will develop electrified aviation powertrains. The two companies are said to have already begun discussing a review of the global AAM market landscape and development direction.
◇ Hyundai Motor's "go-it-alone" approach stalls… Toyota teams with Joby in U.S., enters certification
AAM is cited as one of Hyundai Motor Group's key future businesses. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in 2020, Chairman Chung Eui-sun personally said, "We aim to complete development of a personal air vehicle (PAV) for the AAM business as quickly as possible and commercialize it around 2028."
To develop AAM technology, Hyundai Motor Group recruited President Shin Jai-won, who worked for a long period at NASA, as overall head. In 2021, it established Supernal, an air mobility development subsidiary in the United States, and has poured in about 1 trillion won to date.
However, roughly six years on, Hyundai Motor Group's AAM business remains sluggish. Aircraft development has advanced only to a concept model, making commercialization in 2028—presented as the target by Chairman Chung—effectively unlikely. President Shin Jai-won stepped down last August without notable results.
While Hyundai Motor Group's AAM business stalled, rival automakers that joined hands with external mobility companies have quickly gained speed. Some corporations are already undergoing certification procedures and are on the verge of commercialization.
Toyota has steadily moved ahead after deciding in 2020 to invest a total of $894 million in U.S.-based AAM startup Joby Aviation. In Feb., it even dispatched 200 personnel versed in the Toyota Production System to Joby's plant to bolster aircraft mass production.
Joby is currently undergoing FAA airworthiness certification for its battery-based air taxi. Airworthiness certification evaluates "airworthiness," meaning whether an aircraft's performance is suitable for flight safety, and grants certification if there are no issues. It effectively serves as a flight permit. In Korea, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport oversees it, and in the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversees it.
Toyota and Joby currently have a system to produce one air taxi per month. If the Toyota personnel dispatched to Joby's plant this year build proficiency in AAM aircraft production, monthly output is expected to rise to four units next year.
Stellantis also entered the market in 2021 with U.S.-based Archer Aviation. Late last year, it invested $650 million to expand a plant in Georgia. Archer builds the aircraft, and Stellantis mass-produces them at the factory. The two companies are said to be building out infrastructure with the goal of launching air taxi pilot operations this year in the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Japanese parts maker Nidec has also established a joint venture with Eve Air Mobility, spun off from Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, to produce electrified aircraft powertrains.
◇ Joining hands with KAI… advantage in winning stringent airworthiness certifications in Korea and the U.S.
The mobility industry says Hyundai Motor Group has laid the groundwork to catch up with competitors in the AAM market as soon as possible through its collaboration with KAI. To enter the AAM market, companies must undergo a stringent airworthiness certification process, and KAI's high level of technology is expected to be advantageous in obtaining certification.
KAI is the only company in Korea to have obtained airworthiness certifications for both civil and military aircraft. In the military sector, there are the Surion Korean utility helicopter, the KF-21 fighter, and the FA-50. In civil aviation, it earned airworthiness certification through the KC100. The KC100 is a four-seat light aircraft that KAI developed for certification. At the time, Korea's airworthiness certification followed the same standards as the FAA. Korea and the United States have a bilateral aviation safety agreement, so certification obtained domestically is recognized in the United States.
Unlike passenger planes, which are governed by detailed regulations, AAM aircraft are new products as dedicated vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and must meet FAA safety standards in detail from the initial design stage, according to the industry.
A mobility industry official said, "Airworthiness certification is a very stringent process because it verifies safety from the design stage, not by evaluating a completed aircraft," adding, "Hyundai Motor Group can accelerate its mobility business through collaboration with KAI."