PUNE, India — Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chairman Euisun Chung said on the 14th that the group will widen its investment in India beyond automobiles into infrastructure and energy, marking the 30th anniversary of its entry into the market. He said he discussed local cooperation in electric vehicles and batteries, as well as in robotics and artificial intelligence, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi the previous day.
Meeting Korean reporters at Hyundai Motor's (005380.KS) new plant in Pune, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Chung said the Indian market is growing fast and is also highly important globally. "The completion of the new Pune plant this year, the 30th anniversary of our entry, will be a significant milestone," he said. Chung stressed that the group wants to keep investing not only in automobiles but also in other infrastructure and energy sectors, and to become a company that grows together with India.
Chung met Modi one-on-one at the prime minister's residence in New Delhi the previous day. It was their eighth meeting. On the substance of the talks, he said he told Modi that Hyundai would supply better-quality and safer vehicles. "With electric vehicles also increasing in India, I said we would work with local companies in the EV and battery sectors to build better cars," he said. He added that the group intends to provide a range of transportation options in India beyond cars, including buses and subways, and to build infrastructure. "I said we would keep discussing areas such as future energy, robotics and AI and develop them one by one," he said.
At the meeting, Hyundai Motor Group outlined a medium- to long-term plan to invest about $15.5 billion (about 20.8 trillion won) in India over the seven years from this year through 2032. The money will go toward building new plants, strengthening research and development capabilities, improving the competitiveness of local supply chains and developing new technologies.
Chung identified charging infrastructure as the key challenge for wider EV adoption. "India still lacks EV charging infrastructure, so we will need to work with the government to bring in the charging systems we operate overseas and expand them," he said. "If there are areas where we need to join forces with Indian automakers or global carmakers, we will do so."
On plans to use AI at the Pune plant, he said AI is already widely used in office work and in factory quality control. "It will be used for quality control in the same way at Pune and other new plants," he said. On shared growth with suppliers, he said many Korean suppliers have already moved into India. "What the Indian side is asking for is a higher localization rate, so we will pool our ideas to raise that rate and find ways for our suppliers to succeed alongside us," he said.
Chung recently marked his sixth anniversary as group chairman. "The six years have gone by so quickly that I hardly know how they passed," he said. "We were able to make at least some progress thanks to all of our employees pulling together." He added: "There were ups and downs, but the most important thing is human resources. My mission is to pour every effort into helping our people develop further, and to stay ahead in technology and quality."