Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun visited Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, and met with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the President’s office in Brasilia, Brazil, on the 22nd (local time). Brazil is Hyundai Motor Group’s only production base in Central and South America, and is home to Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazil subsidiary and Central and South American regional headquarters, which are at the forefront of targeting the Central and South American market.
Attending this meeting between President Lula and Chairman Chung Eui-sun were Brazilian Vice President and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Geraldo Alckmin, and Hyundai Motor Company President Jose Munoz (COO).
President Lula began his social activities in earnest when he was elected as chairman of the Brazilian Metal Workers’ Union in 1975, and won the presidential election in 2022, becoming the first three-term president in Brazilian history.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun first expressed gratitude for the Brazilian government’s continued interest and support for Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazil plant and introduced Hyundai Motor Company’s various efforts for employees and the local community.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun said, “Hyundai Motor Group not only wants to sell cars, but also wants to grow together with Brazil. We are carrying out various social contribution activities for the Brazilian community, such as free dental treatment and reforestation programs.”
Chairman Chung went on to say, “Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazil plant, which puts the happiness of workers first, has created a safe working environment and regularly holds joint labor-management seminars and meetings, leading to a dispute-free settlement of wage negotiations for 11 consecutive years.”
With an employee-friendly system in place, Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazilian plant received certification as an excellent company for quality jobs awarded by the São Paulo State Employment and Labor Relations Authority (SERT).
In addition, regarding the Brazilian government’s decarbonization policy, Chairman Chung Eui-sun said, “I am well aware of the Brazilian government’s efforts to research, develop and apply eco-friendly energy sources,” and expressed deep sympathy for the Brazilian government’s various eco-friendly policies, saying, “Hydrogen and eco-friendly “If Hyundai Motor Group has anything to contribute in the mobility field, we will actively participate,” he emphasized.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun announced that Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazil subsidiary and local partners plan to invest $1.1 billion by 2032 in eco-friendly fields such as hydrogen and future technologies.
In December last year, Brazil announced the ‘Green Mobility Innovation (MOVER) Program’, which grants tax cuts and subsidies worth a total of 19 billion real (approximately 5.1 trillion won) to automobile manufacturers investing in the Brazilian decarbonization sector. Global automakers are planning to invest in Brazil one after another.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun said, “Hyundai Motor Group is pursuing a rapid electrification strategy encompassing electric and hydrogen vehicles to achieve zero carbon emissions, and hydrogen energy is a key means of responding to climate change and an important resource that complements electrification.”
In addition, Chairman Chung mentioned AAM (Advanced Air Mobility), which Hyundai Motor Group is pursuing to expand the market and secure technological competitiveness as part of securing future mobility leadership, and SMR, which Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its development as a stable power source. (Small Modular Reactor, small modular nuclear power plant) was explained.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun said, “I am confident that AAM is a future transportation method suitable for Brazil’s transportation environment, and I hope to explore ways to cooperate in the SMR field as well.”
In addition, Chairman Chung Eui-sun said in relation to the meeting with Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Junior, President of the University of São Paulo, scheduled for this afternoon, “We will also cooperate with Brazilian universities for joint research and talent development.” He said.
President Lula emphasized the Brazilian government’s tax reform and improvement of the investment environment and said, “Hyundai Motors, which will invest in the eco-friendly hydrogen field and technology, is an important company growing in Brazil.”
The Brazilian government is implementing diverse eco-friendly policies with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2005 by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
Hyundai Motor Group is actively pursuing growth plans for a new leap forward in the Brazilian market, such as establishing itself as a leading electric brand in the Brazilian market, where competition in eco-friendly mobility is expected to intensify, while also seeking business opportunities utilizing Hyundai Motor Group’s advanced hydrogen technology. .
Specifically, Hyundai Motor Group is seeking to strengthen its leadership in electrification in the Brazilian market by deploying the group’s electrified vehicles that are well-received in the global market, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric, which won three categories in the 2022 World Car of the Year. Kia will continue to expand its electric vehicle lineup in Brazil by launching the EV5, an electric vehicle exclusively for Kia, scheduled for mass production this year.
In addition, as part of our response to the green mobility innovation program, we plan to develop a hybrid FFV (mixed fuel vehicle)-specific powertrain optimized for Brazil. Hybrid FFV is an eco-friendly vehicle equipped with a hybrid system in an FFV (Flexible-Fuel Vehicle) that uses fuel mixed with ethanol or methanol and gasoline.
Hyundai Motor Group is also expanding its global hydrogen network to Central and South America, focusing on Brazil, which is leading the renewable energy market in Central and South America. Hyundai Motor Group plans to actively create new businesses using hydrogen in Central and South America, including Brazil, by discovering new businesses such as pioneering new markets for hydrogen commercial vehicles and supplying hydrogen fuel cell systems, and strengthening cooperation networks among group companies to create a hydrogen ecosystem. To this end, an organization dedicated to hydrogen business in Central and South America was established in Brazil at the end of last year and is actively exploring the hydrogen market.
Hyundai Motor Group is taking the lead in expanding the global hydrogen mobility ecosystem by developing various technologies and making continuous investments across all stages of the hydrogen value chain, and at the 2024 CES held last month, it was introducing hydrogen under the theme of ‘Great transition to hydrogen and software: Ease every way’. We announced a comprehensive solution that will accelerate the transition to society.
In addition, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating the internalization of AAM technology and building a market ecosystem to secure future mobility leadership. Supernal, an independent AAM corporation, is established and operated in the United States, and at the 2024 CES, it introduced a full-scale model of the next-generation AAM aircraft ‘S-A2’, which is being developed with the goal of commercialization in 2028.
In the SMR field, which is attracting attention as a next-generation future energy, we are also working to secure independent technology and commercialize it. In particular, we are participating in the design of America’s first commercialized SMR in collaboration with Holtec International, an American nuclear power plant specialist.
Hyundai Motor Group is carrying out sincere social contribution activities for the Brazilian community. Hyundai Motor Group has been running the Sorisso Cidadao program for 10 years, which provides free dental services to more than 70,000 children and public security officials in the Piracicaba City area, and provides science and technology education to Piracicabasi public school students. We offer coding classes. In addition, the Ionic Forest Campaign and joint research with local organizations, including the University of Sao Paulo, are being conducted to restore tropical rainforests.
Following his meeting with President Lula, Chairman Chung Eui-sun met with university officials, including President Carlos Gilberto Carlotti Jr. of the University of Sao Paulo, and exchanged opinions on ways to foster talent in eco-friendly fields and pursue industry-academia cooperation.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun said, “Hyundai Motor Group wants to resolve energy inequality through hydrogen energy and accelerate the transition to a hydrogen society,” adding, “We will continue to work towards Brazil’s clean environment through close cooperation with the University of São Paulo, which has a high level of competitiveness in various eco-friendly fields.” “We look forward to leading the energy market,” he emphasized.
Founded in 1934, the University of Sao Paulo is considered to have made a significant contribution to Brazilian society, producing 12 presidents since its founding. In particular, the Greenhouse Gas Innovation Center was established in 2016 to conduct various eco-friendly research and projects covering greenhouse gas reduction, bioenergy utilization, and carbon capture and storage technology, including hydrogen production using second-generation ethanol.
When Chairman Chung Eui-sun visits overseas, he takes the time to meet in person with presidents of major local universities and have in-depth conversations. Last year, she also had meetings with the president of the Georgia Institute of Technology in the U.S. and the president of the National University of Hanoi in Vietnam to discuss securing future technologies, nurturing and discovering outstanding overseas talent, and industry-academia cooperation in new business areas.
Meanwhile, Chairman Chung Eui-sun met with Sao Paulo State Governor Tarcísio de Freitas on the 23rd (local time), then visited Hyundai Motor Company’s Brazilian plant to tour the production site and discuss the current status of its business in Central and South America and its mid- to long-term eco-friendly mobility strategy. We plan to inspect it.