The automaker outlined its plans ahead of E-FOREST Tech Day 2026, scheduled for Oct. 19–21 at Hyundai Motor and Kia's Uiwang Research Institute in Gyeonggi Province. The event will showcase around 200 manufacturing technologies, including automation, AI and software-defined factory (SDF) solutions.
At a media preview on Friday, Choi Young-tae, head of Hyundai Motor and Kia's E-FOREST Center, outlined a roadmap to advance autonomous manufacturing systems at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS) by 2030 before introducing humanoid robots and full-scale automation at future factories after 2032.
The group aims to move beyond conventional industrial robots, which largely perform repetitive tasks such as welding and painting, by adopting physical AI that allows robots to recognize their surroundings and make decisions.
Potential applications include connecting wiring inside vehicles, supplying interior trim components and performing paint touch-ups, tasks that have been difficult to automate using conventional technology.
Hyundai plans to use HMGICS as a testing ground for autonomous manufacturing technologies before expanding their use to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia and its electric vehicle plant in Ulsan.
The group is also developing digital twin technology to simulate factory operations and identify potential problems before they occur.
Among the technologies being showcased are logistics robots whose production costs have been reduced by about 30 percent, with charging times shortened from roughly two hours to as little as 12 minutes.
"We will keep working to expand the use of these new technologies in our production plants and put them into practice on the factory floor," said Cho Hyun-chul, vice president and head of Hyundai Motor Group's E-FOREST Strategy Group.
The automaker stressed that its automation strategy is intended to shift workers away from dangerous and repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on production management, quality improvement and other higher-value work.
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