Hyundai ties up with tech giants as it bets on smart mobility

The leader of South Korea's automobile giant Hyundai Motor Group has made trips to three important international markets -- China, the United States, and India -- at the beginning of the year as part of the global expansion strategy of the group, the company disclosed on Wednesday.

Focus on key growth markets

Euisun Chung's travels were designed to investigate business prospects in the three major economies that are anticipated to support the group's future growth as well as to collaborate with the world's top firms, the company said in a press release.

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Chung's trip to India included visits to the three carmaker's factories -- their plants in Chennai and Pune, and Kia's plant in Anantapur—where he assessed production and marketing strategies.

Hyundai’s strong presence in Indian market

Hyundai Motor Group is the second-largest player in the Indian automotive market with around a 20 percent market share. The total production capacity of the three plants is 1.5 million vehicles per year.

The group plans to turn India into a "strategic export hub" after the listing of Hyundai Motor India on the Indian stock market in 2024, which was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the country's history.

"Hyundai's growth for the last thirty years has been the result of Indian consumers' goodwill," Were Chung's words. "For the next thirty years, we should target the home-brand strategy so that Hyundai becomes a truly national company in India."

Chung, who was on a trip lasting ten days until Tuesday, participated in the Korea-China Business Forum with President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to China and the CES 2026, the biggest IT and electronics show, in Las Vegas, and also got to know the production sites of the Indian subsidiary.

China engagement and EV collaboration

He had a talk to the chairman of the company Zeng Yuqun in China about the collaboration in the electric vehicle (EV) battery segment. Furthermore, he had a meeting with the Sinopec chairman Chang Qijun to discuss the potential of collaborating on hydrogen as well as clean fuel technologies, thereby putting a spotlight on the growing focus of Hyundai on mobility solutions of the future.

To accelerate the sales revival in China, the company introduced its first EV model specifically for the Chinese market named Elexio, and it was launched in October and the company’s target is to reach a total of six electric vehicle models in the country by 2030.

The same KIA, a sister company of Hyundai, is also pushing for growth by bringing at least one new electric vehicle every year until 2027 when the EV6 will be 4 years old and thus the demand for electric mobility will be met.

At CES 2026, Chung met with top executives from the world's major technology companies that included Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Qualcomm COO Akash Palkhiwala.

The collaboration presented its roadmap of advanced AI and robotics at the event; the introduction of Atlas, a humanoid robot created by Boston Dynamics, caught the eyes of not only industry giants but also the general public.

The showcase not only affirmed but also enhanced the Hyundai Motor Group's ambition for the future that is powered by AI, automation and robotics, thereby becoming more integrated with the vision of smart factories and next-generation transport solutions.