Hyundai Motor Group will add a new research lab dedicated to developing future growth technologies such as self-driving and connected car applications.

The South Korean conglomerate said on Tuesday a strategic technology research lab will be launched as early as next month. The new R&D center will play a role in materializing the group’s new business while focusing on research in the area of information/telecommunication and artificial intelligence, new materials, energy, robotics, shared economy to better respond to industrial transformations.

New business projects to be led by the lab will include a wide range of future innovative technologies including future e-mobility and convergence technologies, the automaker group said. The new research lab consists of two organizations: One is responsible for planning and developing new technologies and the other for new materials and other innovative technologies. Hyundai Motor Group currently runs three R&D organizations in Gyeonggi Province: Namyang Research Center in Hwaseong, High-Tech Research Center in Uiwang and Mabuk Technical Center in Yongin.

Namyang Research Center is responsible for commercial technologies applied to cars for mass production. High-Tech Research Center is focusing on exploratory research that requires more than 10 years for development. Mabuk Technical Center is in charge of developing fuel cells for hydrogen cars and improving hydrogen car performance.

The strategic technology center will delve into innovative trends and explore new business opportunities, while developing products and services based on those innovative technologies. In other words, the latest research center will explore new money-making technologies that can be available on a mid- and long-term basis.

By Lee Seung-hoon, Woo Je-yoon

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