Hyundai Motor Group will invest 42 trillion won in the Yeongnam region over the next 10 years to foster it as a base for advanced industries, including AI DV (AI Defined Vehicle, a highly autonomous vehicle based on artificial intelligence), future aviation and space, and energy infrastructure.
Hyundai Motor Group presented this blueprint at the "National briefing on the development vision for advanced industries in the Yeongnam region," held on the 3rd in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, where it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on investment to foster advanced industries in the Yeongnam region with government ministries, including the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, as well as local governments, including Busan Metropolitan City, Daegu Metropolitan City, Ulsan Metropolitan City, North Gyeongsang Province, and South Gyeongsang Province.
Hyundai Motor Group will invest in advanced fields in the Yeongnam region, including building an AI manufacturing hub, creating a cluster for future core parts, driving manufacturing innovation based on Manufacturing AI (AI specialized for manufacturing), future aviation and space, and establishing sustainable energy infrastructure. Together with the Saemangeum project now underway, it plans to build an advanced industrial ecosystem and help boost the national economy by promoting balanced regional development and job creation.
Chang Jae-hoon, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said, "Through this investment, we will develop the Yeongnam region, the group's birthplace, into a key base for future advanced industries and help strengthen South Korea's industrial competitiveness."
◇ Ulsan plant as an AI manufacturing hub… core parts cluster also in Yeongnam
Hyundai Motor Group will first convert Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant, the world's largest single automobile plant, into a core base for the future mobility industry. Including the Ulsan EV plant set to begin operation in the fourth quarter of this year, it plans to build an AI manufacturing hub equipped with state-of-the-art automation and an integrated production system.
An AI DV is a vehicle in which AI learns and makes decisions on its own based on vehicle data. The goal is to secure leadership in AI DVs in the global mobility market, where AI technology competition is intensifying. Hyundai Motor Group is advancing technology up to AI DVs at Autonomous Driving level 4 or higher, equivalent to robotaxis.
The Ulsan hydrogen fuel cell plant will be built as a strategic production base to support the expansion of hydrogen mobility and the clean energy industry. In addition, next-generation hydrogen fuel cells mass-produced there and polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis systems, which produce clean hydrogen by electrolyzing water, will be nurtured as next-generation export mainstays.
By 2030, Hyundai Mobis's battery system assembly line in Ulsan, Hyundai Mobis's motor and controller production line in Daegu, and Hyundai WIA's thermal management system production line for electric vehicles in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, will be established, creating a future core parts cluster in the Yeongnam region.
It will also speed up intelligent manufacturing innovation based on Manufacturing AI technology. The intelligent factory based on Manufacturing AI envisioned by Hyundai Motor Group is a facility in which AI independently decides on production equipment, logistics, and quality control across the plant to generate optimal production synergy.
◇ New businesses in future aviation, space, and energy also underway
Future aviation and space mobility businesses, ranging from urban air mobility to space launch vehicles and lunar exploration, will also be carried out in the Yeongnam region.
Supernal, Hyundai Motor Group's U.S. corporation specializing in future air mobility, will concurrently develop next-generation airframes based on electrified powertrains in the Yeongnam region. Localization of core space industry technologies will also be pursued, including building a lunar exploration rover that applies Autonomous Driving and AI technologies accumulated in the development of automobiles and robots.
Investments will also be made in energy supply, an essential element for carrying out advanced businesses such as AI and Autonomous Driving. Hyundai Motor Group plans to conduct projects related to building energy infrastructure in the Yeongnam region, including Small Modular Reactor (SMR), offshore wind power, and water electrolysis plants.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said, "We determined that the Yeongnam region is the most suitable area for expanding the manufacturing capabilities we have accumulated over decades into future advanced industries," adding, "We will continue to contribute to strengthening domestic industrial competitiveness."