[Exclusive] Hyundai Motor Accelerates Future Aviation and Saemangeum Projects; New Models Boost Core Business Competitiveness

The Hyundai Motor Group is making all-out efforts to secure "future business competitiveness" by forming a special team for the development of "aviation powertrains (PT)" and accelerating its Saemangeum AI (Artificial Intelligence) Valley project. While management conditions in its core automotive business are not easy, the group aims to continue improving profitability based on aggressive new model launches.

According to industry sources on the 29th, Hyundai Motor recently established an "Aviation PT Manufacturing TFT (Task Force Team)" within the Electrification Production Technology Center of the Manufacturing Solutions Division through a recent organizational restructuring. Shin Dong-jo, Director General and Head of the Electrification Production Technology Center, will concurrently serve as the head of the TFT, with a total of 30 full-time and part-time employees assigned to the team.

Hyundai Motor stated that the new organization is intended to strengthen collaboration between aviation PT development and manufacturing technology divisions. In fact, given that Lee Hong-wook, Director General and Head of Hyundai Motor's Aviation Powertrain Development Office, Kim Young-ho, Director General and Head of Kia's Electrification Advanced Production Technology Office, and Kim Do-hyung, Director General and Head of Hyundai Motor's Electrification Production Technology Office, all participated in the TFT, it can be seen that the focus is on enhancing "synergy" between development and manufacturing.

The ultimate goal of this organizational restructuring is to accelerate AAM development. AAM is a concept encompassing Urban Air Mobility (UAM), which focuses on short-distance transport, and Regional Air Mobility (RAM), which involves air traffic between regions. It is gaining attention as a solution to traffic congestion in future metropolitan areas. Previously, in 2019, Euisun Chung, Chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group (then Senior Vice Chairman), expressed his will to pursue AAM business by stating, "In the future, (the business mix of the Hyundai Motor Group) will be 50% automobiles, 30% Personal Air Vehicles (PAV), and 20% robotics."

On the same day, the Hyundai Motor Group also reaffirmed its commitment to the smooth establishment of the Saemangeum AI Valley, another pillar of its future business. At the "North Jeolla Saemangeum On-Site Meeting" hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea's Mega-Growth Special Committee, Jang Jae-hoon, Vice Chairman of the Hyundai Motor Group, promised, "We will make Saemangeum a hub for South Korea's future industries where renewable energy, AI data centers, robotics, and the hydrogen industry grow together." He added, "If supported by the interest and assistance of the government and the National Assembly, more corporate investments will flow into Saemangeum, leading to the creation of new jobs and an industrial ecosystem," emphasizing that this could result in outcomes that enhance South Korea's future industrial competitiveness.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor announced that it recorded revenue of 4,511.02 billion won and operating profit of 267.72 billion won on a consolidated basis for the third quarter. Revenue decreased by 3.4% year-on-year, but operating profit increased by 5.5%. Despite overall sluggish sales, profitability improved due to the base effect of U.S. tariffs, which reached 25% in the third quarter of last year, and expanded sales of HYBE lead vehicles. Third-quarter HYBE lead vehicle sales were 167,414 units, an increase of approximately 6,000 units from the same period last year. The share of HYBE lead vehicles in total sales rose by 2.7 percentage points to 18.2%.

Hyundai Motor forecast that uncertainty in the global business environment will continue for the time being. However, with domestic factory production normalized since September and major new model launches and sales set to fully kick off in the fourth quarter, the company plans to actively recover sales volumes based on expanded production and new model effects. Alongside this, it intends to focus its efforts on defending profitability by continuing company-wide cost reduction and cost structure improvement activities.

A Hyundai Motor official said, "We will respond flexibly to demand changes based on a product portfolio optimized for various powertrains and regional market conditions," adding, "We will overcome the difficult business environment through production normalization, expanded new model sales, and continuous cost improvements, while strengthening our medium- and long-term competitiveness."