The South Korean automaker announced a 77.3 trillion won investment plan for 2026–2030 at its CEO Investor Day in New York last September. The 2026 outlay alone accounts for about 23 percent of the total, signaling an aggressive push to gain ground in emerging mobility sectors.
"We plan to concentrate investment in 2026 and 2027," said Lee Seung-jo, Hyundai's chief financial officer, during a conference call following the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings. "Spending will peak during this period, though the overall investment envelope remains unchanged."
The 2026 investment will comprise 9 trillion won in capital expenditure, 7.4 trillion won in research and development, and 1.4 trillion won in strategic investments—up 20.4 percent from 14.5 trillion won spent in 2025.
Hyundai has been pivoting toward future-mobility businesses as it grapples with slowing electric-vehicle demand and intensifying global competition. The company is leaning on hybrid vehicles as a bridge, with hybrids accounting for 16.3 percent of its global sales mix. Hybrid and SUV models powered Hyundai's first-ever breach of the 1-million-vehicle mark in North America last year.
To bolster its artificial intelligence capabilities, Hyundai struck a deal with Nvidia to deploy 50,000 graphics processing units, with installations set to begin in the second half of this year. Lee said the company is "currently finalizing plans" for the GPUs, adding that "once specifics are set, we will communicate them to the market."
On robotics, Lee said proof-of-concept testing of Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot at Hyundai's Metaplant facilities in Georgia would conclude in the second half of this year. The company unveiled a production-ready version of Atlas at CES 2026 earlier this month and plans to deploy robot fleets at the Georgia plant by 2028 for tasks such as parts sequencing and assembly.
Hyundai also said its software-defined vehicle could roll out as early as the second half of 2026. The platform features a high-performance vehicle computer architecture designed to enable faster autonomous-driving functions and over-the-air software updates.
The company reiterated its commitment to a total shareholder return of more than 35 percent through 2027, including a minimum dividend of 10,000 won per share and a quarterly dividend of 2,500 won.
Hyundai projected wholesale sales of 4.158 million vehicles in 2026, up 0.5 percent from the previous year, with revenue growth of 1 to 2 percent. It guided for an operating profit margin of 6.3 to 7.3 percent, citing an improved vehicle mix and cost efficiencies as offsets to persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
"We will continue to pursue future investments," Lee said. "We believe these efforts are now being reflected in our share price."
Shares of Hyundai Motor closed 7.21 percent higher at 528,000 won on Thursday, as investors welcomed the company's front-loaded spending on AI-driven growth initiatives.
*AJP Kim Yeon-jae contributed to this story.
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