Hyundai Motor Group is absorbing steep losses across its robotics, autonomous driving, and advanced air mobility businesses as the company pushes deeper into artificial intelligence-driven transportation.
Three of Hyundai’s core future-mobility affiliates, HMG Global, Motional, and Supernal, have recorded 2.21 trillion won, or about $1.5 billion, in accumulated equity-method losses over the past five years, according to company filings reported by Asia Today and translated by UPI.
The losses come as Hyundai continues spending heavily on technology that could reshape factories, ride-hailing, and air travel.
Robots Head Toward U.S. Factories
HMG Global serves as Hyundai Motor Group’s robotics and artificial intelligence holding company. The affiliate also holds a majority stake in Boston Dynamics, the U.S. robotics company behind the humanoid robot Atlas.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy Atlas robots at its U.S. factory in Georgia beginning in 2028, starting with high-risk or repetitive industrial tasks.
The company aims to produce 30,000 humanoid robots a year and gradually expand their use from parts sequencing to component assembly and more complex manufacturing work by 2030, Reuters reported.
The push comes as automakers look for ways to use artificial intelligence and robotics to improve factory efficiency, reduce worker strain, and handle dangerous or physically demanding tasks.
Robotaxis Reach Commercial Stage
Hyundai’s autonomous driving affiliate, Motional, has also moved closer to commercialization.
Motional and Uber launched an IONIQ 5 robotaxi service in Las Vegas in March. The vehicles were developed through Motional’s partnership with Hyundai Motor Group and were designed for ride-hailing and future driverless operations.
The Las Vegas service currently represents one of Hyundai’s most visible efforts to move autonomous driving from testing into public use.
Air Mobility Faces Questions
Supernal, Hyundai’s advanced air mobility affiliate, remains the most uncertain of the company’s future-mobility bets.
The California-based air taxi company laid off 296 employees earlier this year, representing roughly 80% of its workforce, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times and aviation outlet AIN.
Supernal has said its broader mission is to develop advanced air mobility as a safe and reliable transportation option. Still, the layoffs added pressure to a business line that has not yet reached commercial viability.
Hyundai’s strategy now rests on whether the company can turn years of heavy spending into deployable products.
For now, the company’s future-mobility push shows both sides of the artificial intelligence race: billions in losses today, and a long-term bet that robots, robotaxis, and next-generation aircraft could help define the transportation market of tomorrow.
Sources for links: use Asia Today/UPI for the loss figures, Reuters for the Atlas/Georgia factory details, Motional for the Las Vegas robotaxi launch, and Los Angeles Times or AIN for the Supernal layoffs.
