Euisun Chung’s new year address focuses on five key strategic priorities to navigate the evolving global landscape which will bring both headwinds and opportunities.
05 Jan 2026 | 4385 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Hyundai Motor Group chairman Euisun Chung today announced the Group’s 2026 strategic vision with global employees, presenting priorities focused on continuous customer-focused transformation, strengthened ecosystem competitiveness, and AI-driven innovation to navigate evolving market dynamics and lead new industry standards.
He presented five key strategic priorities — customer-focused evolution, agile ...
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Hyundai Motor Group chairman Euisun Chung today announced the Group’s 2026 strategic vision with global employees, presenting priorities focused on continuous customer-focused transformation, strengthened ecosystem competitiveness, and AI-driven innovation to navigate evolving market dynamics and lead new industry standards.
He presented five key strategic priorities — customer-focused evolution, agile decision-making, ecosystem competitiveness, bold collaboration, and leading new industry standards — to navigate the evolving global landscape.
Sharper focus on customers, quick decision-making
The Hyundai Motor Group chairman noted that 2026 will bring both headwinds and opportunities as the global business landscape continues to evolve rapidly. He emphasized continuous transformation driven by customer insights. “When conditions get tough and competition fierce, our greatest strength will be our ability to continuously evolve by staying close to our customers,” he said.
Specifically, he encouraged employees to take a moment and assess some fundamental questions: “Did we thoroughly reflect customers' perspectives in our products? Did we ever compromise in the process of planning or development? Can we confidently speak of our quality in front of customers? Through these questions, we can look back upon ourselves squarely and strive for progress, thereby keeping ourselves resilient against any challenges,” he said.
He emphasized the importance of speed and clarity in organizational operations. “Above all, what matters most is fast and clear communication, and agile decision-making that is free from formality. Let us work more efficiently,” he said, highlighting that by fresh thinking of its approaches, the Group can continue to achieve innovation.
Building a competitive advantage, benefiting from AI
He also reinforced the importance of ecosystem strength, noting that Group businesses such as vehicle and humanoid robot manufacturing each involve tens of thousands of components, requiring exceptional performance and quality across the entire production chain. “The strength of our supply ecosystem directly amplifies our competitive advantage. Sustainable growth is possible only when the whole ecosystem stays healthy,” he said.
Chung emphasized that as AI technology rapidly develops and competitive dynamics shift, the global manufacturing industry is undergoing a major transition. He highlighted the need to advance through bold collaboration with diverse partners in navigating this AI-driven transformation.
“Looking at the automotive market alone, we've entered an era where core product competitiveness is determined by AI capabilities,” he noted. Chung emphasized that Hyundai Motor Group is rapidly building capabilities to compete at the highest level, leveraging world-class product design and manufacturing expertise, plus valuable data from manufacturing sites and user experiences.
He shared his strong belief in the Group's competitiveness in the physical AI field and how this will continue to grow to serve customers. “We possess world-class capabilities in the design and manufacturing of physical products. If we envision a bigger future and boldly expand collaboration with various partners to broaden the industrial ecosystem, I am confident we will deliver greater value to customers,” he said.
He highlighted that as momentum shifts toward physical AI, Hyundai Motor Group's data from vehicles, robots, and manufacturing processes becomes increasingly differentiated. “Our future hinges on whether we treat AI as a tool or adopt it as the engine of organizational evolution. The only way for us to sustain our position as a global leader in the years ahead is to embed AI into our organizational DNA, not borrowing it from the outside.”
Pushing the SDV envelope, betting big on hydrogen
Vice-chairman Jaehoon Chang reinforced the Group's commitment to digital transformation, emphasizing that the transformation to a software-driven mobility company is essential to its future success and industry leadership. "I believe that what we have built so far in the unexplored realm of SDV will become a solid foundation for the future envisioned by Hyundai Motor Group. We are still in the stage of perfecting our developments, and we are steadily preparing to deploy SDV across various vehicle models," he said.
He also highlighted the Group's comprehensive leadership across the hydrogen value chain. "Hydrogen serves as both an energy carrier and storage solution that complements renewable energy and enhances efficiency. Beyond hydrogen mobility, our Group is leading the entire value chain from production to storage and industrial applications.