Hyundai Motor India to Open Its Pune Plant, Acquired from GM, in the 2nd Half of 2025

Hyundai Motor India expanding its production capacity. The Korean auto giant announced its plans to open its Pune plant, which was acquired from General Motors, in the second half of 2025.

Several other India expansion announcements were also made in the first overseas town hall meeting, at Gurugram, with the Executive Chair Euisun Chung, who visited India to review the Group’s mid- to long-term future mobility strategies, which lay the foundation for its leadership in the Indian market.

The Pune facility will be upgraded to create a production hub capable of building more than 200,000 units annually using smart manufacturing technology and systems. Additionally, when combined with the existing capacity of its Chennai plant (which produces 824,000 vehicles annually), Hyundai Motor India's total annual capacity will exceed one million vehicles.

Furthermore, Kia India's yearly production capacity will also be expanded to 431,000 units within the first half of this year. With this, Hyundai and Kia together will give the conglomerate a combined production capacity of about 1.5 million vehicles per year in India.

Besides, Hyundai Motor India also announced an exciting lineup of models planned for production in India. Some of the popular models that will be manufactured locally include — Hyundai Creta, Venue, i20, Verna, Alcazor and Kona Electric.

Hyundai Motor Group also plans to strengthen its EV leadership in the Indian EV market through its electrification strategy.

Hyundai Motor India plans to unveil its first locally produced EV in India next year and proactively respond to the growth of the Indian EV market. Starting with the mass production of its first electric SUV model at the Chennai plant at the end of 2024, the company plans to further produce five EV models by 2030. Hyundai Motor India will also utilize its sales network hubs, expanding the number of EV charging stations to 485 by 2030.

Hyundai Motor India employees expressed significant interest in the company’s EV business plan in the Indian market.

“By around 2030, we expect to see a substantial expansion in the EV market. In anticipation of this evolution, Hyundai is focused on developing locally tailored EVs aimed at establishing us as a leading global EV brand,” explained Executive Chair Chung. “We also plan to proactively build charging stations at strategic locations – including dealerships – to facilitate the adoption of EVs.”

Hyundai Motor Group has achieved strong growth over the past 28 years, since Hyundai Motor India first entered the Indian market in 1996.

Hyundai, Kia Partner KAIST To Develop LiDAR Sensors for Advanced Autonomous Vehicles

Hyundai Motor, Kia and KAIST Form Joint Research Laboratory to Develop Next–Generation Autonomous Driving Sensors

• Hyundai Motor Group–KAIST On–Chip LiDAR Joint Research Lab at the KAIST HQ in Daejeon to develop LiDAR sensors for advanced autonomous vehicles
• Lab aims to develop essential high–performance, compact on–chip sensors and new signal detection technology
• On–chip sensors to reduce the size of LiDAR system compared to conventional methods and secure price competitiveness through mass production using semiconductor fabrication processes

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have announced that they are partnering with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), to develop next–generation autonomous driving sensors.

Established in 1971, by the Korean government, KAIST is Korea's first public, research-oriented science and engineering institution. It may be recalled that, in 2009, KAIST researchers unveiled an electric transport system where the vehicles get their power needs from cables underneath the surface of the road via non-contact magnetic charging.

It may be recalled that in 2018, researchers from 30 countries boycotted KAIST due to an allegation that KAIST was starting an AI weapons research project together with the Korean arms manufacturer Hanwa. The allegations were of developing lethal autonomous weapons. Later the institute denied the existence of such project.

Years later, now Hyundai Motor, Kia and KAIST are joining together to establish the ‘Hyundai Motor Group–KAIST On–Chip LiDAR Joint Research Lab’ at KAIST in Daejeon to develop LiDAR sensors for advanced autonomous vehicles.

The joint research lab aims to develop high–performance and compact on–chip sensors and new signal detection technology that are essential in the increasingly competitive autonomous driving market.

On-Chip LiDAR joint laboratory establishment and agreement ceremony

On–chip sensors, which utilize semiconductor manufacturing technology to add various functions, can reduce the size of LiDAR compared to conventional methods and secure price competitiveness through mass production using semiconductor fabrication processes.

In addition, the current LiDAR sensors measure the distance to objects by emitting and measuring the time it takes for light to return. However, the next–generation signal detection method, called Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW), emits light with a frequency that varies over time and analyzes the frequency shift of the returning light to detect distance.

Compared to existing methods, this technology has less signal noise, can calculate relative speed with objects, and can exclude interference from external light sources such as sunlight, making it relatively advantageous in severe weather conditions.

The joint research lab will consist of about 30 researchers, including the Hyundai–Kia Institute of Advanced Technology Development research team and KAIST professors Sang–Hyeon Kim, Sangsik Kim, Wanyeong Jung and Hamza Kurt from KAIST’s School of Electrical Engineering, and will be in operation for four years until 2028.

KAIST will be leading the specialized work of each research team, such as the development of silicon optoelectronic on–chip LiDAR components, fabrication of high–speed, high–power integrated circuits to run the LiDAR systems, and the optimization and verification of LiDAR systems.

Hyundai Motor and Kia, together with Hyundai NGV, a specialized industry–academia cooperation institution, will oversee the operation of the joint research lab and provide support, such as monitoring technological trends, suggesting research directions, deriving core ideas and recommending technologies and experts to enhance research capabilities.

Hyundai, Kia Unveil New Technology to Increase Range of Electric Vehicles

• Reducing the drag coefficient (Cd) in an automobile improves the performance of the vehicle as it pertains to speed and fuel efficiency.
• Hyundai Motor and Kia Unveil ‘Active Air Skirt’ Technology to Help Electric Vehicles Go Faster and Farther
• New 'Active Air Skirt' (AAS) technology controls the turbulence generated during high-speed driving by operating variably depending on the vehicle’s speed
• Installed between the front bumper and the front wheels, AAS is hidden during normal operation but operates at speeds over 80 km/h when the aerodynamic resistance becomes greater than the air resistance and is stored again at 70 km/h
• Taking into account the specificity of the E-GMP platform, it is positioned only in front of the tires without completely covering the front end.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation has just unveiled the ‘Active Air Skirt’ (AAS) technology that minimizes the aerodynamic resistance generated during high-speed driving, effectively improving the driving range and driving stability of electric vehicles (EVs).

AAS is a technology that controls the flow of air entering through the lower part of the bumper and effectively controls the turbulence generated around the vehicle wheels by operating variably according to the vehicle speed during high-speed driving.

In the EV era, competition to secure a better driving range from a single charge has become fierce, making the relationship between vehicles and aerodynamics even more important. Furthermore, aerodynamic performance has a significant impact not only on power performance but also on driving stability and wind noise.

In response, manufacturers are exploring various measures to reduce the coefficient of drag (Cd), which is the resistance coefficient of the air acting in the opposite direction of the vehicle’s motion.

Reducing the drag coefficient (Cd) in an automobile improves the performance of the vehicle as it pertains to speed and fuel efficiency.

AAS is installed between the front bumper and the front wheels of the vehicle and is hidden during normal operation, but it operates at speeds over 80 km/h when the aerodynamic resistance becomes greater than the rolling resistance and is stored again at 70 km/h. The reason for the difference in deployment and storage speeds is to prevent frequent operation in specific speed ranges.

Also, the reason why AAS only covers the front part of the tires without completely covering the front is related to the characteristics of Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform for EVs. This is because it is more effective in improving aerodynamic performance to only cover the tire part since the platform floor is flat. This also functions to enhance downforce of the vehicle, thereby improving vehicle traction and high-speed stability.

AAS can also operate at speeds over 200 km/h. This was possible thanks to the application of rubber material on the lower part, which reduces the risk of external objects splashing and damaging while driving at high speeds and ensures durability.

Hyundai Motor and Kia announced that they have tested and reduced the drag coefficient (Cd) by 0.008, improving drag by 2.8 percent, by installing AAS in Genesis GV60. This is a figure that can expect an additional range improvement of about 6 km.

Hyundai Motor and Kia have applied for related patents in South Korea and the United States, and plan to consider mass production after durability and performance tests.

“This technology is expected to have a greater effect on models such as SUVs where it is difficult to improve aerodynamic performance,” said Sun Hyung Cho, Vice President and Head of Mobility Body Development Group at Hyundai Motor Group. “We will continue to strive to improve the driving performance and stability of electric vehicles through improvements in aerodynamics.”

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor and Kia are applying various technologies, such as rear spoilers, active air flaps, wheel air curtains, wheel gap reducers and separation traps, to vehicles to secure competitive drag coefficients. Hyundai IONIQ 6, which incorporates these technologies, has achieved a global leading Cd of 0.21.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Unveil Paradigm–Shifting 'Uni Wheel' Drive System to Revolutionize Future Mobility

• Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation present the ‘Universal Wheel Drive System’ (Uni Wheel) at ‘Uni Wheel Tech Day’ in Seoul
• New system integrates existing drive components to deliver excellent efficiency, power and durability without impacting ride comfort
• Improved packaging potential opens up avenues for greater driving range, passenger space and PBV development

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have unveiled the Universal Wheel Drive System — called ‘Uni Wheel’ — at ‘Uni Wheel Tech Day’ in Seoul, Korea. This paradigm-shifting vehicle drive system will revolutionize the design of future mobility devices.

Uni Wheel is a functionally integrated wheel drive system that dramatically improves available space inside an electric vehicle (EV) by moving the main drive system components to the vacant space within the wheel hub. In doing so, Hyundai Motor and Kia have designed a completely new structure for the drive system.

In internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles power is transmitted from the engine through the transmission and to the wheels via drive shafts and constant velocity (CV) joints. In EVs, the engine and transmission are replaced by a motor and reduction gear, but the final method of transmission to the wheels is the same.

Uni Wheel opens new possibilities and enables a flat-floor configuration by moving an EV’s reduction gear inside the wheel hub, locating a compact individual motor close to each wheel, reducing the length of the drive shafts.

The system frees up significantly more interior space compared with conventional drive systems, enabling future mobility products optimized for various applications, such as Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs).

“We are pleased to showcase innovative ideas that could become game changers in the future mobility market,” said Jongsool Park, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Technology Development of Hyundai Motor Group. “We will perfect the technology so that customers can experience mobility in a completely different and new way.”

Advancing future mobility through new technology

Recent advances in electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity technologies are transforming mobility products into living spaces. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s focus on space utilization in future vehicle architectures will further boost customer value and provide owners with richer user experiences as a result.

Uni Wheel uses a special planetary gear configuration consisting of a sun gear in the center, four pinion gears on each side and a ring gear surrounding this arrangement. Power generated by the motor is transmitted to the sun gear, which in turn engages the pinion gears to rotate the ring gear. This is connected to the wheel to drive the vehicle.

Uni Wheel’s pinion gears are connected to each other to form two linkages, and this multi-link mechanism enables Uni Wheel’s multi-axis movement to allow a wide range of suspension articulation.

A conventional drive system using a regular CV joint suffers from a decrease in efficiency and durability as the angle of drive shaft deflection increases when travelling over bumpy, undulating surfaces. Uni Wheel can transmit power with almost no change to efficiency regardless of wheel movement, ensuring high durability and ride comfort.

When combined with electronic air suspension that can adjust ride height according to the driving situation, this can be increased to stabilize the vehicle on rough roads, or decreased for high-speed driving to improve power and stability.

By moving the reduction gear to the wheel hub, Uni Wheel’s high reduction ratio delivers a significant torque output and allows for a more compact electric motor. With independent control of up to four efficient electric drive units, Uni Wheel also allows for unprecedented levels of torque vectoring to boost dynamic ability and deliver high levels of steering and driving stability.

More efficiency, more interior space

The Uni Wheel concept frees up space within a vehicle that was previously unavailable to users. By relocating many components of the drive system to the wheel hub and downsizing the electric motor with no impact on performance, the extra space made available within the vehicle body can be utilized as additional cargo room, such as a larger trunk or a ‘frunk’.

It’s also possible to move away from conventional seating arrangements designed around the driver, creating new interior layouts and designs for the era of fully autonomous driving. Utilizing this space to improve battery capacity can also improve driving range, meaning users can achieve the range of a large EV without the physical size of the vehicle growing.

The developments Uni Wheel allows will also significantly increase passenger space. EV batteries are conventionally located low down in a vehicle’s body, which requires a raised ride height, often reducing passenger space by the volume of the battery. However, Uni Wheel optimizes battery packaging, with the loss of passenger space minimized.

This will be a valuable feature for PBVs, which need to maximize interior space by offering a low, flat-floor design. The flat-floor platform enabled by Uni Wheel allows for strong flexibility and scalability when it comes to PBVs, enabling the design of various body types depending on the intended use case.

Uni Wheel is highly flexible and easily adaptable to all types of EVs, including regular passenger and high-performance EVs, as the system can implement the same powertrain and reduction gear functions required for conventional EVs.

In addition to vehicles of various sizes, Uni Wheel can also be applied to other types of mobility devices, such as wheelchairs, bicycles and delivery robots. Depending on the requirements of these different forms of mobility, Uni Wheel can be scaled to work with wheel sizes as small as 4 inches and as large as 25 inches or more. In addition, Uni Wheel’s ability to move the rotation axis of the wheel makes it possible to create forms of personal mobility that can climb stairs as smoothly as an escalator.

Hyundai Motor and Kia are continuously verifying the stability, efficiency, and durability of Uni Wheel through various tests to perfect its development and will continue efforts to improve its efficiency by adjusting the reduction gear ratio, and upgrading the lubrication and cooling system.

Hyundai Motor and Kia have applied for and registered eight patents related to Uni Wheel in South Korea as well as the United States.