Hyundai Mobis to lead mobility platform innovation: CEO Cho

Hyundai Mobis Co. will take another leap forward to become a mobility platform provider for future mobility technologies and bolster its new growth engines robotics, urban air mobility (UAM) and purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) with electrification technology, said its chief executive.

“Hyundai Mobis will deliver customers unrivaled mobility platforms, backed by software with superior quality and optimum semiconductors, which can foster electrification, autonomous driving and connectivity,” Hyundai Mobis Chief Executive Officer Cho Sung-hwan said during his keynote speech at the 44th International Vienna Motor Symposium held in the Austrian capital on Thursday (local time).

The world’s sixth-largest auto component maker during the 2023 Consumer Electrics Show (CES) in January unveiled its vision to transform into a mobility platform provider that offers integrated solutions of combined core technologies in electrification, self-driving and connectivity.

This is also part of its long-term plan, announced in 2021, to reform its business model by shifting away from traditional auto parts toward future mobility technologies and services.

Cho yesterday revealed that the company will also foster its new growth drivers such as UAM, robotics and PBVs with a core electrification technology such as the battery system it already secured.

The auto components major under South Korea’s auto behemoth Hyundai Motor Group mass produces the battery system assemblies (BSAs), the electric drive units and the integrated charging control units (ICCUs) for EVs.

It is expected to come up with a detailed plan to advance its new growth engines.

Hyundai Mobis introduced its future PBV concept model M.VISION TO during this year’s CES in early January. The company expects its PBVs will broaden mobility options for people with different needs, offering easy mobility access for the disabled in wheelchairs and convenient cargo delivery.

The Korean auto component leader is going all-out to reinforce its core mobility technologies to make people’s lives better, Hyundai Mobis CEO said.

“Hyundai Mobis strongly believes that mobility technology will contribute to solving universal problems including climate change, urban overcrowding and aging population, and that our innovation must support sustainable growth,” added Cho.

The company last year filed more than 3,000 patents, mainly related to future mobility technologies such as autonomous driving, electrification and UAM, abroad. It was the first time the company’s overseas patent applications surpassed its domestic ones.

In December, Hyundai Mobis joined hands with Israeli teleoperation startup Ottopia Technologies Ltd. to developer remote mobility assistance (RMA) technology for the commercialization of autonomous transportation equipment.

The Vienna Motor Symposium is an internationally recognized annual automotive forum. This year’s convention was held under the theme of electrification and attended by more than 1,000 people from the global auto industry and academia from around the world.

Thomas Schmall, member of Volkswagen AG’s Board of Management, Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung and Mercedes-Benz Vice President Christoph Starzynski joined the forum this year.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at black0419@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.