Hyundai Motor Group marked the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS) via a virtual event on Tuesday. The facility would serve as an open innovation and research laboratory for its future mobility research and development. The center also aims to revolutionize the future mobility value chain in providing customized services for consumers.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated that the HMGICS signifies a significant step forward for Hyundai Motor. Being the only one of its kind worldwide, the center would enable more Korean companies to partner with local SMEs and suppliers. The center could also help local companies collaborate with universities and research institutes to enhance their products further.
Clean Fuel
Singapore aims to equip all vehicles with clean fuel by 2040, which coincides with the country’s Paris Agreement commitments. The Minister also expects that the endeavor would create new growth areas for the economy and produce Singaporeans jobs.
Sung Yun-mo, Korean Minister of Trade, Industry, and Energy, stated that the HMGICS denotes a new achievement in the enduring partnership between Singapore and Korea.
The collaboration would also unite the two nations’ respective expertise.
Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman, commented that the HMGICS would make every effort to fulfill a “Human-Centered Value Chain Innovation for a Mobility Paradigm Shift.” Hyundai would provide customized products and services for the customers’ needs. The HMGICS would contribute to the advancement of humanity and achieve a better global society in the future.
Human-Centered Mobility Value Chain
Hyundai held the virtual event by connecting the Namyang R&D Center and Jurong Town Hall in Singapore as a precautionary measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials from the Korean and Singaporean governments and Hyundai Group participated in the ceremony.
The human-centered mobility value chain innovation consists of three strategic directions:
- The enhancement of the value of work and workers’ dignity through a human-centered digital transformation
- The creation of a customer-centered smart mobility environment
- The use of eco-friendly energy sources contributing to the building of Singapore’s Smart Nation as a responsible industry member in the smart ecosystem
The seven-story facility would offer online purchases of vehicles through mobile phones. Customers could also watch and monitor their vehicles while being manufactured at HMGICS. The company would also provide a test drive before the delivery and after-sales services that ensure seamless service.
The HMGICS facility would occupy 44,000 square meters, and the building would cover 28,000 square meters. The site construction would finish by the end of 2022. The Sky Track at Jurong Innovation District (JID) would contain the full manufacturing value chain and stand atop the HMGICS facility.
The building would include an Urban Air Mobility landing port and solar panels providing clean and renewable energy onsite. The center would also serve as a testbed for a small scale onsite EV production facility.
Beh Swan Gin, Singapore Economic Development Board Chairman, stated that the Hyundai collaboration would contribute strategically in Singapore’s mobility technologies.
Tan Boon Khai, JTC CEO, said that Hyundai would reinforce the JID’s position as an advanced future manufacturing center.
