Hyundai Motor said it plans to invest more than 10billion dollars in the United States by 2025 to accelerate electrification and autonomous vehicle technology Part of the money includes the $5.5 billion Hyundai announced on Friday for its new electric vehicle plant and battery manufacturing plant in Georgia. Non affiliated suppliers will contribute another $1 billion to the project, bringing the total cost to $6.5 billion.
Of Hyundai's total investment in the United States, the remaining $4.5 billion will be used for the "key future business" identified by the carmaker. In the view of modern automobile, the key future business refers to robot technology, artificial intelligence technology, advanced air traffic and automatic driving ability. Notably, Hyundai said it would invest its funds through joint ventures and subsidiaries.
The company said the investment will also help Hyundai upgrade its R & D business of Kia and Genesis brands.
EV and battery
According to officials, the new electric car factory is the largest economic development deal recruited by Georgia. Covering an area of 2923 acres, the plant is expected to break ground early next year and start commercial production in the first half of 2025, with an annual capacity of 300000 vehicles.
These businesses will help Hyundai achieve its goal of becoming the top three electric vehicle suppliers in the United States by 2026. Hyundai Motor said that the plant is mainly powered by renewable energy. It will use highly connected, automated and flexible manufacturing systems, and robots will assist human workers.
Hyundai said the plant would produce at least some of the 23 electric vehicles it plans to launch by 2025. Its battery factory will help Hyundai build a stable supply chain.
Robot technology
In 2020, Hyundai bought an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from Softbank. The deal valued the mobile robot company at $1.1 billion. Part of the $10 billion investment announced on Sunday will be used to create a robot value chain, from parts manufacturing to logistics.
Boston Dynamics has launched its first two commercial robots spot and stretch for use in various industries. Among them, spot is used in power facilities, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas and mining. Stretch is a robot arm that can move boxes, which is being marketed to warehouse facilities and distribution centers.
The money will also support Hyundai's subsidiary, new horizons studio, which is committed to developing ultimate motor vehicles, such as tiger, an autonomous cargo transport vehicle the size of a carry on suitcase.
Automatic driving technology
In 2019, Hyundai established a $4 billion joint venture with APTIV, a global supplier developing automatic driving (AV) technology. The resulting AV technology company motional is currently piloting automatic driving technology on LYFT and via shared bicycle applications in Las Vegas.
Hyundai said it would actively support motional, which means it intends to invest more money as the company moves towards commercial operations.
Laura major, chief technology officer, said at the techcrunch mobility Conference on Wednesday that motional will launch a modern robot car based on the brand's IONIQ 5 EV on the LYFT network in Las Vegas next year. These vehicles will be equipped with human safety operators, but they should be able to independently navigate the boarding and alighting operations of the hotel.
Air movement
Hyundai, which focuses on the sky, established supernal in Washington, D.C. last year. It will be responsible for figuring out how to integrate air traffic into the existing intermodal network.
At present, the company is developing an application to allow customers to plan their journey using a combination of cars, trains, advanced air transportation, electric helicopters and electric motorcycles. Its goal is to start commercial services in 2028.