THE KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY, GLOBAL EDITION

Toyota Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Group agreed to deepen partnership in future mobility technology development, especially in hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle and humanoid robot development, during the two auto giant chiefs’ meeting in South Korea on Sunday.

The meeting was held after Akio Toyoda, chairman of Japan’s top automaker Toyota Motor, flew to Seoul over the weekend at the invitation of Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun.

Their meeting in Seoul was heralded by The Korea Economic Daily’s exclusive report in September.

“Together, Toyota and Hyundai are joining hands to create a better society and shape the future of mobility,” Toyoda said after his intense show runs of Toyota Motor’s Yaris WRC at the first-ever ‘Hyundai N x TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival’ at Yongin Speedway in Korea on Sunday.

“We’ll continue to push forward in motorsport alongside Toyota so that more people can enjoy the thrill of driving,” said Chung who joined Toyoda in the racing performance.

Sources expect the collaboration between the world’s largest and third-largest car sellers will move beyond motorsport toward the hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle and robotics development, which requires tremendous cost.

Their alliance is expected to create great synergy considering that Toyota and Hyundai retained their No. 1 and No. 3 position, respectively, in the global auto market in the first half of this year with global car shipments of 5.16 million units and 3.62 million units, respectively.

HYDROGEN CAR ECOSYSTEM

Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor are the world’s top two hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle developers.

Toyota Motor started selling the world’s first commercialized hydrogen fuel cell car Mirai sedan in 2014, and Hyundai Motor rolled out its hydrogen fuel cell car model the NEXO four years later. 

They are also key members of the Hydrogen Council founded in 2017 by 13 global companies, including Hyundai and Toyota, to build a global hydrogen ecosystem. The council now boasts 140 members.

Building a hydrogen ecosystem, encompassing production, transportation, storage and charging system building, requires massive investment, which makes even a big corporation hesitant to lead a new initiative alone.

Due to the challenging circumstances, global hydrogen car sales in the first six months of this year shrank 34.1% on-year to 5,621 units.  

But Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor remain committed to the development of hydrogen fuel-cell cars and unveiled a slew of their new concept hydrogen cars on Sunday.

HUMANOID ROBOTS IN CAR PRODUCTION LINES

The two auto groups’ robotics alliance has already kicked off after Hyundai’s US robotics unit Boston Dynamics Inc. and Toyota Research Institute (TRI) earlier this month agreed to join forces to speed up the development of “general-purpose humanoid robots.”

With two of the world’s leaders in AI and robotics, Hyundai and Toyota will deploy their AI-powered humanoid robots in their car manufacturing plants to cut production costs and lower defect rates.

Hyundai Motor plans to deploy Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robots in the next few years.

Following the latest robotics partnership, Toyota is also expected to employ Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robots to produce its cars.

The deployment of robots to car plants is one of the latest trends in the global auto industry to automate more assembly line processes so they can save labor costs and bolster worker safety.

In June, Tesla Inc. deployed two Optimus robots, the company’s general-purpose humanoid robot, to its automobile factory to perform simple tasks.

In August, BMW Group piloted its humanoid robot Figure 02 at its US factory in South Carolina.

Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor are also expected to implement various robotics technologies in their new cars, industry observers said.

Hyundai Motor has been shifting its business focus toward smart mobility from brick-and-mortar automaking following its acquisition of Boston Dynamics.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun said in 2021 that robotics will account for 20% of its future business, with automobiles taking up half of its sales, followed by urban air mobility (UAM) at 30%.

SAMSUNG EYES AUTO ELECTRONICS COLLABORATION

Samsung Electronics Co.'s Chairman Jay Y. Lee also attended the Hyundai-Toyota car racing event on Sunday.

Considering that Samsung controls various car electronics and parts businesses such as chips by Samsung Electronics, Harman International’s digital cockpits, Samsung Display Co.'s automotive displays and Samsung SDI Co.'s electric vehicle batteries, Lee was said to have discussed with Chung and Toyoda future partnership opportunities at the event.

The place where the racing event was held is also owned and managed by Samsung Group’s de facto holding company Samsung C&T Corp.

Write to Jung-Eun Shin and Jeong-Soo Hwang at newyearis@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.