This file photo, provided by Hyundai Motor Group, shows Hyundai Executive Chair Euisun Chung (2nd from L) inspecting a Hyundai plant in the Indian city of Chennai on Aug. 8, 2023. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate, Kia Corp., said Tuesday they will launch a five-year joint project with three Indian colleges starting next year to develop battery and automation technologies.
Hyundai and Kia set up the Hyundai Center of Excellence together with India’s three leading engineering colleges to inject 10 billion won (US$7.1 million) into the car battery and automation study project for five years through 2029, Hyundai said in a statement.
The three engineering colleges are the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, IIT Bombay and IIT Madras.
The South Korean carmakers will also partner with IIT Delhi’s Center for Automotive Research and Tribology, the only electric vehicle (EV) research center in India, to contribute to the local government’s plan to establish an EV ecosystem, the statement said.
The industry-university collaboration is part of Hyundai’s reinvestment in India after Hyundai Motor India Ltd.’s initial public offering (IPO) in October on the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai, it said.
IIT Madras in India
Hyundai Motor India’s stock market debut marked Hyundai Motor Group’s first listing outside of South Korea and the largest IPO in the history of the Indian stock market, having raised $3.3 billion.
Hyundai has said it aims to become a major player in the Indian government’s “Make in India” initiative, the country’s policy goal of making India a global manufacturing hub.
Hyundai Motor’s Indian unit is the second-biggest carmaker in India, following Japan’s Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai produced 765,000 vehicles in India last year.
(Yonhap)
