Hyundai Motor's tech bets face headwinds as core business loses steam

Hyundai Motor’s weakening profitability in Korea, the U.S. and Europe is putting pressure on its costly investments in robotics, software-defined vehicles and autonomous driving. The automaker’s shares have fallen around 60 percent from their June 1 peak to below 320,000 won, while brokerages have cut target prices. Labor disruptions, U.S. tariffs, Chinese competition and unprofitable software development are weighing on near-term earnings. Hyundai is expanding production in India and aims to deploy Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robots as future growth engines.

Five brokerages recently lowered their target prices for Hyundai Motor, including KB Securities, which cut its target to 700,000 won from 720,000 won, and Hyundai Motor Securities, which reduced its target to 500,000 won from 630,000 won.

KB Securities estimated Hyundai Motor’s third-quarter operating profit at 2.55 trillion won, down 10.4 percent from the previous quarter, and projected that labor strikes would reduce global shipments by about 50,000 vehicles.

BYD registered 20,137 vehicles in Korea from January through September, ranking fourth among imported car brands for the year.

Hyundai’s software subsidiary 42dot accumulated 705.5 billion won in operating losses between 2021 and 2025.

Hyundai plans to introduce Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot into manufacturing before gradually expanding its role, while the professor said full commercialization is expected around 2029 to 2030.

Published Oct 15, 2026 7:00 am KST

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Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz delivers an address at the world premiere of the all-new Tucson SUV at Sound River Studios in New York, Oct. 1. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor’s weakening auto profitability is raising questions about the sustainability of its costly investments in robotics and autonomous driving, as the technologies remain years away from generating significant earnings.

The company is betting on Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot, its own software-defined vehicle (SDV) and autonomous driving capabilities as three core pillars for its future mobility.

Yet those businesses are far from generating tangible earnings, leaving Hyundai increasingly dependent on its conventional auto business which faces mounting earnings pressure from labor disputes at home, tariffs from the United States and intensifying competition from Chinese automakers in Europe.

The timing gap between its weakening core business and future growth engines is becoming harder for investors to overlook. Hyundai’s shares have fallen around 60 percent from their June 1 peak of 783,000 won ($587) to less than 320,000 won on Monday, reflecting fading enthusiasm for its robotics ambitions and growing doubts over its earnings outlook.

The pressure continues to be raised across the nation’s brokerages. Five brokerages — KB Securities, Shinhan Securities, Kiwoom Securities, Yuanta Securities and Hyundai Motor Securities — has recently lowered their target prices for the automaker. KB Securities cut its target to 700,000 won per share from 720,000 won, while Hyundai Motor Securities made a steeper reduction to 500,000 won from 630,000 won.

Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles used for its autonomous driving demonstration and relevant data collection / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

The revisions reflect expectations that Hyundai’s near-term earnings will remain under pressure, even as its long-term investment rests increasingly on technologies that have yet to prove their commercial viability.

KB Securities estimated Hyundai’s third-quarter operating profit at 2.55 trillion won, down 10.4 percent from the previous quarter. The brokerage attributed much of the weakness to production disruptions, estimating that labor strikes would reduce global shipments by about 50,000 vehicles.

The production losses come as Hyundai must defend its market position against competitors offering increasingly cost-competitive vehicles.

In Korea, Chinese automaker BYD registered 20,137 vehicles from January through September, ranking fourth among imported car brands for the year. Meanwhile, Hyundai’s domestic sales face pressure from shifting consumer demand, while its U.S. business must navigate trade policy uncertainty and the cost of localizing production.

The problem extends beyond the immediate impact of strikes and tariffs. Maintaining sales volumes in a more competitive market may require greater discounts and incentives, potentially squeezing per-vehicle profits just as Hyundai needs to fund its next wave of investment.

“Hyundai’s share price is being weighed down not only by deteriorating profitability in its automotive business, but also by growing doubts about its ability to establish an independent SDV business,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University.

Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas appears on a stage during a media event of Hyundai Motor on the sidelines of this year's CES tech fair in Las Vegas, Jan. 5. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor

The challenge is particularly acute in software and autonomous driving, where Hyundai is trying to move beyond its traditional role as a vehicle manufacturer and establish control over technologies that could determine future industry profits.

Hyundai has stepped up efforts to develop its own autonomous driving capabilities, including strengthening leadership at its software subsidiary, 42dot. But the business has yet to demonstrate that it can generate returns commensurate with the resources invested in it.

42dot has accumulated 705.5 billion won in operating losses between 2021 and 2025, clearly indicating the financial burden of developing proprietary software and driving technologies.

The auto expert said the appointment of new 42dot CEO Kim Min-woo late last year was intended to turn the business around, but the process would still take time.

Park Min-woo, president and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Vehicle Platform division and CEO of 42dot, introduces the group’s vision to job seekers in Silicon Valley at the Tech Talent Forum 2026 at the San Jose Convention Center in Calif., Sept. 17. Yonhap

“Hyundai Motor Group needs to become a tier-1 player in autonomous driving within the next several years for its share price to recover on a more stable basis,” he said.

The group’s reliance on Nvidia’s technology also presents a strategic question. Hyundai has moved to incorporate Nvidia’s artificial intelligence (AI) computing capabilities into its autonomous driving development, but greater dependence on an external technology provider could limit its control over a critical part of the future mobility business.

The distinction matters because Hyundai’s ambitions extend beyond cars. SDVs and autonomous driving are expected to underpin the group’s plans for robotics and other future mobility businesses.

Without stronger in-house capabilities in driving algorithms and vehicle software, the group could struggle to capture the full value of those investments, even if it succeeds in manufacturing competitive vehicles and robots, according to the expert.

Hyundai Motor Group also plans to introduce Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot into manufacturing operations before gradually expanding its role.

However, deploying robots on factory floors is not the same as generating significant commercial returns. The scale of adoption, operating costs and productivity gains will determine whether Atlas becomes a meaningful profit contributor or remains a capital-intensive development project.

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“Hyundai Motor needs to secure greater independence in autonomous driving AI before Atlas reaches full commercialization around 2029 to 2030, so it can ensure sustainable growth in an era of future mobility,” the professor said.

Hyundai is looking to strengthen its manufacturing and sales footprint in major markets to deal with the growing uncertainty its key sales territories — Korea, the U.S. and Europe. The latest inauguration of its Pune plant in India is part of its effort to expand production capacity and capture demand in a strategically important emerging market and reduce its strong sales reliance on the U.S. and Korea.

现代汽车在韩国、美国和欧洲的盈利能力持续下滑，给其在机器人、软件定义汽车和自动驾驶领域的巨额投资带来了压力。这家汽车制造商的股价已从6月1日的峰值下跌约60%，跌破32万韩元，券商也纷纷下调了目标股价。劳工纠纷、美国关税、中国竞争以及无利可图的软件开发都对近期盈利构成压力。现代汽车正在印度扩大生产规模，并计划部署波士顿动力公司的Atlas机器人作为未来的增长引擎。

近期，五家券商下调了现代汽车的目标股价，其中包括 KB 证券，其目标股价从 72 万韩元下调至 70 万韩元；以及现代汽车证券，其目标股价从 63 万韩元下调至 50 万韩元。

KB证券估计现代汽车第三季度营业利润为2.55万亿韩元，比上一季度下降10.4%，并预测劳工罢工将导致全球汽车出货量减少约5万辆。

从1月到9月，比亚迪在韩国注册了20137辆汽车，在当年的进口汽车品牌中排名第四。

现代汽车的软件子公司 42dot 在 2021 年至 2025 年间累计亏损 7055 亿韩元。

现代汽车计划先将波士顿动力公司的 Atlas 人形机器人引入制造业，然后再逐步扩大其作用。这位教授表示，全面商业化预计将在 2029 年至 2030 年左右实现。

发布于2026年10月15日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

汽车制造商被敦促在自动驾驶领域争取更大的自主权，以促进股价复苏

现代汽车首席执行官何塞·穆尼奥斯于10月1日在纽约Sound River Studios举行的全新途胜SUV全球首发仪式上发表讲话。图片由现代汽车提供。

现代汽车汽车盈利能力的下降，引发了人们对其在机器人和自动驾驶领域巨额投资可持续性的质疑，因为这些技术距离产生可观的收益还有数年时间。

该公司将波士顿动力公司的 Atlas 人形机器人、其自主研发的软件定义车辆 (SDV) 和自动驾驶能力视为其未来出行的三大核心支柱。

然而，这些业务距离产生实际收益还很遥远，这使得现代汽车越来越依赖其传统汽车业务，而传统汽车业务正面临着来自国内劳资纠纷、美国关税以及欧洲中国汽车制造商日益激烈的竞争带来的越来越大的盈利压力。

现代汽车核心业务疲软与未来增长引擎之间的时差问题，正日益凸显，令投资者难以忽视。该公司股价已从6月1日78.3万韩元（约合587美元）的高点下跌约60%，周一跌至不足32万韩元，反映出市场对其机器人技术雄心的热情逐渐消退，以及对其盈利前景的担忧日益加剧。

韩国各大券商持续加大对现代汽车的抛售压力。KB证券、新韩证券、Kiwoom证券、元大证券和现代汽车证券五家券商近期下调了对这家汽车制造商的目标股价。KB证券将目标股价从每股72万韩元下调至70万韩元，而现代汽车证券的下调幅度更大，从每股63万韩元下调至50万韩元。

现代汽车用于自动驾驶演示和相关数据收集的电动汽车 / 图片由现代汽车提供

这些调整反映出人们预期现代汽车的近期盈利将继续面临压力，即便其长期投资越来越依赖于尚未证明其商业可行性的技术。

KB证券预计现代汽车第三季度营业利润为2.55万亿韩元，较上一季度下降10.4%。该券商将业绩疲软的主要原因归咎于生产中断，并估计劳工罢工将导致全球汽车出货量减少约5万辆。

由于竞争对手提供的汽车在成本上越来越有竞争力，现代汽车必须捍卫其市场地位，而产量却出现了下滑。

在韩国，中国汽车制造商比亚迪今年1月至9月共注册了20137辆汽车，位列进口汽车品牌第四。与此同时，现代汽车在韩国国内的销量正面临消费者需求变化带来的压力，而其美国业务则必须应对贸易政策的不确定性以及本地化生产的成本。

问题不仅限于罢工和关税带来的直接影响。在竞争日益激烈的市场中，为了维持销量，现代汽车可能需要提供更大的折扣和优惠，这可能会挤压每辆车的利润，而现代汽车恰恰需要资金来支持其下一轮投资。

“现代汽车的股价不仅受到汽车业务盈利能力下降的拖累，还受到对其建立独立SDV业务能力的日益怀疑的影响，”大林大学汽车工程教授金弼洙表示。

1月5日，在拉斯维加斯举行的CES消费电子展期间，波士顿动力公司的人形机器人Atlas亮相现代汽车举办的媒体活动现场。图片由现代汽车公司提供。

在软件和自动驾驶领域，挑战尤为严峻。现代汽车正试图超越其作为汽车制造商的传统角色，并掌控可能决定未来行业利润的技术。

现代汽车已加大力度研发自主自动驾驶技术，包括加强其软件子公司42dot的领导层。但该业务尚未证明其能够产生与投入资源相匹配的回报。

42dot 在 2021 年至 2025 年间累计亏损 7055 亿韩元，这清楚地表明了开发专有软件和驱动技术的财务负担。

这位汽车专家表示，去年底任命 42dot 新任 CEO 金敏宇旨在扭转公司颓势，但这一过程仍需时间。

现代汽车集团先进车辆平台事业部总裁兼负责人、42dot首席执行官朴珉宇于9月17日在加州圣何塞会议中心举行的2026年科技人才论坛上，向硅谷求职者介绍了该集团的愿景。（韩联社）

他表示：“现代汽车集团需要在未来几年内成为自动驾驶领域的一流企业，其股价才能更加稳定地复苏。”

该集团对英伟达技术的依赖也引发了一个战略问题。现代汽车已开始将英伟达的人工智能（AI）计算能力融入其自动驾驶技术研发，但对外部技术供应商的过度依赖可能会限制其对未来出行业务关键环节的控制。

这一区别至关重要，因为现代汽车的雄心壮志远不止于汽车领域。共享出行汽车（SDV）和自动驾驶技术预计将成为该集团机器人和其他未来出行业务计划的基石。

专家表示，如果该集团在驾驶算法和车辆软件方面没有更强大的内部能力，即使它成功制造出有竞争力的车辆和机器人，也可能难以获得这些投资的全部价值。

现代汽车集团也计划先将波士顿动力公司的Atlas人形机器人引入生产运营，然后再逐步扩大其作用范围。

然而，在工厂车间部署机器人并不等同于产生显著的商业回报。Atlas 能否成为重要的盈利来源，还是仅仅停留在资本密集型的​​研发项目阶段，将取决于其应用规模、运营成本和生产效率的提升。

现代汽车销量下滑加剧，罢工影响之外的因素仍在持续

现代汽车集团在美国开设机器人培训中心

现代汽车寄希望于重新设计的途胜SUV能够提振销量

“现代汽车需要在 Atlas 于 2029 年至 2030 年左右全面商业化之前，确保其在自动驾驶人工智能领域拥有更大的自主权，这样才能确保在未来出行时代实现可持续增长，”这位教授说道。

现代汽车正寻求加强其在主要市场的生产和销售布局，以应对其主要销售区域——韩国、美国和欧洲——日益增长的不确定性。近期，现代汽车在印度浦那新建的工厂正式投产，旨在扩大产能，抓住这一具有重要战略意义的新兴市场的需求，并降低其对美国和韩国市场的过度依赖。