Chung Eui-sun: "We will invest $26 billion in the United States by 2028"

Chung Eui-sun, chair of Hyundai Motor Group, reiterated that robotics and physical artificial intelligence (AI) will be core pillars of the group’s future growth, and announced a plan to invest a total of $26 billion in the United States by 2028.
In an interview on the 12th (local time) with U.S.-based online outlet Semafor, Chung said, "Robotics and physical AI are key elements that will drive Hyundai Motor Group’s evolution beyond mobility," adding, "We are in the process of transforming from an automaker into a new kind of technology company."
Chung reaffirmed at the interview the human-centered AI robotics strategy he unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, and said Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot in its production processes by 2028.
The group aims to produce up to 30,000 units of Atlas per year by 2030.
Robot technologies are expected to expand beyond improving manufacturing efficiency into logistics, services, and a wide range of other industries.
The core of the group’s AI strategy is in-house development.
Chung noted, "Hyundai Motor has access to both real-world driving data accumulated from millions of vehicles and data from our manufacturing processes," emphasizing, "This is a competitive edge that even big tech companies cannot easily obtain."
Hyundai Motor Group is working closely with global partners such as Nvidia while also moving aggressively to build its own internal AI capabilities. Chung again underscored the strategic importance of the United States market. He stated, "The United States is a core strategic market for Hyundai Motor Group and a key foundation for long-term resilience and sustainable growth," and continued, "We will invest a total of $26 billion by 2028 to reinforce our long-term growth base." Hyundai Motor Group has invested $20.5 billion in the United States over the roughly 40 years since it entered the market and currently supports more than 570,000 jobs there. Chung explained that the new investment will focus on software-based manufacturing innovation at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) and on building a future technology ecosystem in areas such as AI, autonomous driving, and robotics. He also expressed strong commitment to the hydrogen business. Chung stressed, "Hydrogen is not a competing technology to electric vehicles, but a complementary one," adding, "Providing customers with a wide range of choices is the source of competitiveness in the era of energy transition." Hyundai Motor Group is pushing to build out the entire value chain of its hydrogen business around the HTWO brand.
eastcold@fnnews.com Kim Dong-chan Reporter