Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun declared its goal of the year to solidify its standing as an eco-friendly brand leader.
In his New Year’s pre-recorded speech in Live Station, a metaverse platform set up by the company on Jan. 3, Chairman Chung said, “We’ll build a foundation to be an eco-friendly top-tier brand that customers can trust most and are satisfied with.”
To that end, he said Hyundai Motor Group will solidify a foundation to be an eco-friendly top-tier brand while specifically coming up with smart solutions in future business areas, ranging from self-driving automobiles to robotics and urban air mobility (UAM) by securing proprietary software technologies, including AI.
In order to establish a foothold as an eco-friendly top-tier brand, Chairman Chung said the business group will secure a global competitive edge in next-generation technology areas, including motors, batteries and advanced materials that serve as core parts for electrification.
Chairman Chung said his group will shift into an electrification structure in all areas such as R&D, production, marketing and customer management to translate it into action.
Hyundai Motor Group will release more diverse EV models this year, including a sedan version of Ioniq 6 and the next-generation Kona EV, an electric version of GV70, and an upgraded Niro EV, as well as EV6’s high-performance version.
The business group will build an electrification ecosystem, such as the construction of charging infrastructure in cooperation with Korean and foreign companies to popularize eco-friendly cars.
Chairman Chung said his group will utilize EVs and hydrogen as power sources in diverse mobility and industrial sectors while translating into action roadmap and strategies to achieve carbon neutrality in the group’s overall areas.
As for self-driving automobiles, Chairman Chung said Hyundai Motor Group will release diverse pilot services loaded with Level 4 technology, which is the lowest stage of intervention for motorists, and test-drive Ioniq 5.
Loaded with Level 4 technology, Ioniq 5 is to be mass produced by 2023. The group will expand its robotics business with Boston Dynamics, a U.S. company it acquired an 80 percent stake in last year.
It plans to release a logistics robot called Stretch in the market this year as well as testing self-driving vehicles — namely RoboRide and RoboShuttle — on actual roads.
Chairman Chung said his group will continue ramping up R&D capabilities in the robotics sector while accelerating collaboration in diverse areas, including mobility.
The business group will make preparations without interruptions to commercialize UAM by 2022, he said.
Hyundai Motor’s next-generation EV concept car Ioniq 6. (Photos: Hyundai Motor Group)
Hyundai Motor Group Aims to Restore Car Sales to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Hyundai Motor Group set a target of selling 7.47 million cars during this year. The automaker group aims to raise its car sales 12.1 percent this year over last year — restoring to pre-pandemic levels.
Hyundai Motor plans to sell 4,323,000 units this year, an 11.1 percent surge over last year while Kia Motors has a goal of selling 3.17 million units, a 13.4 percent year-on-year jump.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said the automaker group will achieve the goals by expanding the selling of eco-friendly cars, including EVs by coping with semiconductor supply problems in a nimble fashion.
The group will release a sedan version of Ioniq 6 and the next-generation Kona EV, an electric version of GV70 and an upgraded Niro EV, as well as EV6’s high-performance version this year.
Genesis models will make their debut in the European and Chinese markets following their foray in the United States.
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