Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in SG Transforms Customer Experience thru Future Mobility R&D

• Construction begins with virtual groundbreaking ceremony attended by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, South Korea's Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo, and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung

• HMGICS to serve as an innovation center for future mobility studies

• Construction due to be completed by the end of 2022

• Center to lead paradigm shift in mobility value chain, spanning the entire lifecycle of vehicles

• Small-scale manufacturing capabilities focused on EVs to test a customer-centered manufacturing platform

• HMGICS to explore new business concepts, including battery-as-a-service

Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) celebrated the groundbreaking announcement of the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS) with a virtual ceremony today. The center will act as an open innovation lab for the Group's future mobility research and development, with the aim of revolutionizing the future mobility value chain.

"HMGICS is a major step forward for Hyundai Motor. The facility is the first of its kind in the world. It will pave the way for more Korean companies to invest here, partner with local suppliers and SMEs, and collaborate with our universities and research institutes," said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. "Singapore's goal is to have all our vehicles run on cleaner energy by 2040, in line with our Paris Agreement commitments. We hope this will open up new growth areas for our economy, and create exciting jobs for Singaporeans."

(For full speech, please refer to the following link : https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom) "Korea and Singapore have cooperated on multiple fronts and the HMGICS represents a new milestone in the continuing collaboration between our two nations," said Sung Yun-mo, Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy. "The key to this collaboration will lie in finding ways to bring together our respective strengths."

"Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore will strive for 'Human-Centered Value Chain Innovation for a Mobility Paradigm Shift.' We will offer products and services tailored to customers' needs," said Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung. "I am confident the innovations that spring from HMGICS will shape our future global society for the better and contribute to the progress of humanity."

Hyundai hosted the virtual event with the Singapore government by connecting the Namyang R&D Center in Korea and Jurong Town Hall in Singapore as a safety measure amid COVID-19 pandemic. Officials from the Korean and Singaporean governments, as well as the Group, attended the ceremony, including Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong; Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Sung Yun-mo; and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung.

Through HMGICS, the Group will realize its vision for human-centered mobility value chain innovation with three strategic directions. First, the Group will enhance the value of work and the dignity of workers through a human-centered digital transformation. HMGICS will develop innovative systems that combine advanced technologies such as AI, ICT, and big data to allow for work environment where creative potentials are fulfilled, and human value is enhanced. Secondly, the group will build a customer-centered smart mobility environment where products are tailored to customer needs and mobility services would enrich its customers' lives.

Lastly, the Group will contribute to the building of Singapore's Smart Nation as a responsible industry member in the smart ecosystem. HMGICS, located in the heart of Singapore, will use eco-friendly energy sources like solar and hydrogen energy to help achieve carbon neutrality.

During an event in May 2019, Executive Vice Chairman Chung emphasized the need to bring focus back to customers and their needs. Since then, the Group has worked to establish a customer-centered approach on multiple fronts. The Group continue the approach at HMGICS in its endeavor to revolutionize future mobility value chain.

In future, customers will be able to customize and purchase vehicles online using a smartphone, which will immediately start production using Hyundai's on-demand technology. The customers can then watch their car being manufactured at HMGICS. Once the car is ready for delivery, it will be transferred to the 620-meter-long Sky Track where customer can test drive the vehicle.

Sky Track will sit atop HMGICS' state-of-the-art seven-story innovation lab located at the Jurong Innovation District (JID). JID enables how organizations collaborate – by bringing the various nodes of the advanced manufacturing ecosystem together, into a single district to create a one-stop advanced manufacturing hub. Masterplanned to house the full manufacturing value chain, JID is home to a vibrant ecosystem of researchers, technology and training providers, and advanced manufacturers.

The center will also act as a test bed for a human-centered intelligent manufacturing platform with small scale EV production facility on site. The facility will utilize the latest 'Industry 4.0' smart technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. The logistics and assembly lines within HMGICS will be highly automated to establish a safe and efficient work environment. The Group will also test versatile systems that produce multiple models, to respond efficiently to fast changing market environments.

---

SOURCE: Hyundai Motor Group