Kia Corporation

• Hyundai Motor Group celebrates a year of innovation at HMGICS, a key hub advancing the Group’s sustainable, human-centric mobility vision
• Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung emphasizes HMGICS’s strategic role in advancing Hyundai’s vision for future mobility solutions at town hall meeting
• The Group will continue to foster innovation in manufacturing technology, redefine customer experience, and engage with local community

Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS) commemorated its first anniversary and reinforced the Hyundai Motor Group’s (the Group) vision with Executive Chair Euisun Chung.

HMGICS  held a town hall on December 12th to celebrate its one-year milestone, share key achievements, and reinforce the organization’s pivotal role in Hyundai’s global innovation strategy. Alongside Executive Chair Chung, key executives from Hyundai Motor – including Jaehoon Chang, the President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, Juncheul Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of Manufacturing for Hyundai Motor Group, Hyun Sung Park, CEO of HMGICS, and Alpesh Patel, Chief Innovation Officer of HMGICS – joined the conversation with employees.

“Our journey has been impressive so far, but the best is yet to come,” said Executive Chair Chung, applauding the dedication and hard work of HMGICS employees, who continue to move forward by responding proactively to rapidly changing circumstances. “We can meet the challenges ahead, because we are Hyundai. We can meet the challenges because we have what it takes—the right people like you, and our vision of progress for humanity.”

Executive Chair Chung reinforced the mission of developing sustainable, innovative mobility solutions and enhancing customer experiences, stating: “HMGICS is exploring new business ideas and technologies that will revolutionize future mobility.”

Hyundai Motor President and CEO Chang, who will become the Group’s Vice Chair as of January 1st, emphasized the role of the innovation hub in the Hyundai Motor Group long-term strategy, saying: “We will proactively develop essential technologies for future factories, such as AI, robotics, and automation, and verify their effectiveness through concrete projects. The expertise accumulated during this process will become key assets for building smart factories and will be applied to Hyundai’s global manufacturing sites.”

A year of innovation and progress

HMGICS, Hyundai Motor Group’s first global innovation hub for future mobility innovation, is taking the lead across numerous fields, driving advanced mobility solutions in manufacturing technology, R&D, sales, and customer experience. Over the past year, HMGICS has achieved key milestones and showcased success in multiple areas.

The implementation of a highly intelligent and automated cell-based production system has led to significant advancements in logistics and assembly automation, powered by robotics, AI, and digital twin technology. HMGICS plans to establish a system capable of producing various types of mobility solutions, including electric vehicles, Purpose-Built Vehicles (PBVs), Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), and robots.

The innovative manufacturing technologies developed at HMGICS will be gradually applied to factories globally, including Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA)in Georgia, and the dedicated electric vehicle plant in Ulsan. The future-oriented factories will allow the Group to strengthen manufacturing competitiveness by enhancing safety and convenience for employees while improving operational efficiency. 

These innovations are setting new benchmarks for the development of future mobility solutions and have contributed to the 2023 production of the Hyundai IONIQ 5—the first locally built EV in Singapore—and the 2024 debut of the Hyundai IONIQ 6, both of which have garnered global acclaim for their design, technology, and eco-conscious manufacturing.

The innovation at HMGICS goes beyond manufacturing and extends into the realm of customer experience enhancement. The facility has redefined the customer journey with immersive Discovery Tours, which allow visitors to enjoy a 3D virtual reality tour of the EV production process, take test rides on the Skytrack and explore the site’s two-story vertical smart farm.

The smart farm within HMGICS supplies produce to Na Oh, a unique Korean restaurant that opened at HMGICS in June based on a seed-to-table concept and led by three-Michelin-Star Chef Corey Lee. This initiative adds a cultural dimension to the broader HMGICS journey, focusing on culinary excellence and enhancing the overall customer experience.

HMGICS also actively engages with the local community by nurturing talent and collaborating with research institutions and universities. In 2024, it increased its local workforce by 30 percent, emphasizing R&D and engineering roles. The center also partners with local institutions to offer internships and practical learning opportunities in advanced manufacturing and innovative technologies.

The Group will continue to drive innovation and foster a world where businesses and society grow together. With HMGICS at the forefront of this journey, it is committed to embracing continuous transformation to achieve sustainable growth, fueled by technological innovation and the creation of meaningful social value.