Hyundai, Kia to build Hyundai Center of Excellence in India

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) to build the Hyundai Center of Excellence. 

IITs are a network of 23 engineering and technology institutions in India. Established in 1950, they are under the purview of the Ministry of Education of the Indian Government and are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961. 

The three universities involved in the collaboration are IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IIT Madras. 

Hyundai Motor and Kia will establish the Hyundai Innovation Center with these universities to jointly research batteries and electrification.

The two companies plan to about 10 billion won ($7.13 million) over five years starting in 2025. 

They will also expand their collaboration to include software and hydrogen fuel cells.

The Hyundai Innovation Center is an industry-academia collaboration model specific to India. It's based on Centers of Excellence (CoE), dedicated research labs in IIT that operate through corporate and alumni sponsorship. Currently, there are 22 CoEs in IIT Delhi.

The two companies will also work closely with India's only electric vehicle research center, CART, located at IIT Delhi.

They will help build an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in India in line with the country's EV deployment policy. 

Hyundai Motor Co.'s Indian unit debuted on India's stock market in October.  It became Hyundai Motor Group's first overseas entity to list on a foreign bourse.

"India has plenty of potential. I know India is the future," Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun said at its Indian unit's listing ceremony on the NSE in Mumbai.

Write to Jae-Fu Kim at hu@hankyung.com