Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group executive chairmain, speaks at the company’s annual New Year address in Seoul on January 6, 2025.
Hyundai Motor Group
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, controlled by billionaire Euisun Chung, is ramping up domestic investment by 19% to a record 24.3 trillion won ($16.7 billion) to bolster competitiveness amid sluggish consumer sentiment in the country and U.S. trade uncertainty.
Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia, announced on Thursday it will spend 11.5 trillion won on research and development for next-generation mobility technologies, including electrification, hydrogen-powered vehicles and connected cars. The company will also invest 12 trillion won to expand its electric vehicle production line and building related infrastructure. About 800 million won will go towards strategic investments such as autonomous driving.
The announcement came days after executive chairman Chung warned of growing geopolitical and economic risks. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose a universal tariff of 10% on global imports into the world’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s consumer sentiment index in December hit the weakest level in more than two years, weighed down by political uncertainty following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment. Hyundai Motor said its domestic sales in 2024 dropped 7.5% year-on-year, while overseas sales went down 0.5%.
“There is no need to be intimidated by uncertainties ahead,” said Chung during Hyundai Motor’s annual New Year address on Monday. “Without challenges, we risk becoming complacent, which presents a bigger danger.”
Hyundai Motor is the world’s third largest automaker by production volume after Japan’s Toyota Motor and Germany’s Volkswagen. The company in March said it will earmark 68 trillion won over the next three years to boost its electric vehicle development, and separately hire 80,000 new employees. Last week, Hyundai Motor Co.’s U.S. head Jose Munoz officially took over as president and CEO of the company.
