"Just as we look for the best general hospital when we are ill, this place will become a hub of future-oriented service that provides top-level diagnostics and maintenance for customers who love Hyundai Motor and Genesis."
Chang Jae-hoon, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said this at the opening ceremony of the Suwon High-tech Center in Giheung-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi, on the 30th. Set to begin official operations on July 1, the center is Hyundai Motor's specialized facility for high-difficulty repairs, built with a total floor area of 51,497 square meters (about 15,600 pyeong), larger than seven soccer fields, across two basement levels and five above-ground floors.
Group companies including Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Mobis, and Hyundai Glovis joined forces to build Hyundai Motor's first automated maintenance environment based on smart mobility. On the center's first basement level that day, Hyundai Mobis' automated warehouse system was in place.
As an autonomous case-handling robot (ACR) moves between shelves rising to the ceiling and places parts on the lowest shelf, a small autonomous guided vehicle (AGV) brings them to the worker. When the worker attaches a shipping label to the parts and places them in the container of an autonomous mobile robot (AMR), the AMR takes the elevator on its own and delivers the parts to the maintenance technician.
Yoo Hyo-jun, head of Hyundai Motor's domestic business division, said, "Robots, not people, handle the entire process of picking up and transporting parts, allowing engineers to focus on more valuable work," and added, "Engineers will diagnose vehicles more precisely and communicate with customers, further raising service satisfaction."
Maintenance services and diagnostic methods have also been further advanced. When a customer makes a maintenance appointment, Hyundai Motor's remote diagnostic service platform, RDSP, analyzes vehicle data in advance before drop-off to identify issues. Hyundai Motor said this draws out optimal maintenance solutions and can dramatically shorten the time required for service.
Yoo said, "Before customers arrive, we will identify problems and provide answers first, reborn as a preemptive service hub," and added, "This center is the first place to realize the standard of future services envisioned by Hyundai Motor."
As electric and hydrogen vehicles and software-defined vehicles (SDV) spread, equipment for maintenance has also been newly developed. For example, in the data and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) analysis room, special cameras and NVH software are used to detect defects that are hard to trace. When the camera scans the car, the spot generating noise blinks, making it easy to confirm visually.
Heo Seok-jae, a Hyundai Motor service engineer, said, "Because of the quiet nature unique to electric vehicles, more customers are visiting for subtle noise and vibration," and added, "In the past, it took days to identify the cause, but now, thanks to various equipment, we can find it much more accurately and quickly."
The overall service experience has also been improved. The center operates entirely by appointment, and one engineer is in charge of the entire process from drop-off to delivery, providing one-on-one service. Customers receive consultations in an open space on the first floor of the center while viewing their vehicles through glass. Once maintenance begins, they can check the process in real time via mobile notifications.
On the day, Vice Chairman Chang said, "Today, a comprehensive auto maintenance center is no longer a facility tucked away behind the city," and added, "It should become a landmark representing the city and a space that sets a new standard for future automotive services." In fact, Hyundai Motor implemented a differentiated exterior with a round tower design rather than the typical rectangular building form.
Hyundai Motor plans to gradually develop the Suwon High-tech Center and 22 high-tech centers nationwide into specialized hubs for precision diagnostics and high-difficulty maintenance that respond to the era of SDVs and electrification in future mobility.