Hyundai Motor Company Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Toyota Chairman Akio appear on the show run… Even Chairman Lee Jae-yong?

‘Beyond competition and becoming one with passion.’

The Toyota Yaris racing car appeared at Yongin Speedway with a roar. Surprisingly, those who got off the vehicle that showed off its agile drift performance were Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Toyota Group Chairman Akio Toyota. Chairman Akio, a racing enthusiast, personally took the wheel. As this is the first official meeting, expectations are high for future cooperation between the two companies.

Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Chairman Akio attended the ‘Hyundai N x Toyota Gaju Racing Festival’ held at Everland Speedway in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 27th. This event was planned by both companies to develop motorsports culture, and in particular, this was the first time that Chairman Chung and Chairman Akio met in public. It is expected that this meeting will expand the areas of cooperation to include hydrogen vehicles and robots, where both companies rank first and second in the world.

The field of cooperation between Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota that is receiving the most attention is hydrogen vehicles. If Hyundai Motors, which ranks first in global hydrogen vehicle market share, and Toyota, which ranks second, cooperate in the field of hydrogen vehicles, the speed of building a hydrogen ecosystem is expected to accelerate. There is an expectation that a new breakthrough can be made in the field of hydrogen vehicles, which are slow due to their relatively higher prices than electric vehicles and the lack of charging infrastructure such as hydrogen charging stations. In particular, after the meeting between Chairman Chung and Chairman Akio, there is also talk that Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota may begin joint development of hydrogen vehicles. The first and second largest automobile manufacturers in the hydrogen car market can introduce hydrogen cars that maximize marketability by further concentrating their technological capabilities.

Second, there is also a prediction that Hyundai Motor Company and Toyota will further strengthen cooperation in the robotics field. The two companies have already begun cooperation in the robotics field. Boston Dynamics, a robot subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, and Toyota Research Institute (TRI), which is in charge of research and development at the Toyota Group, are collaborating to develop a general-purpose humanoid (humanoid robot) based on artificial intelligence (AI).

The two companies announced their cooperation in robot development by issuing a joint statement in the United States on the 16th. The plan is to apply TRI’s Large Behavior Model (LBM) AI to Atlas, a bipedal robot developed by Boston Dynamics. Here, the meeting between the two presidents could further broaden the scope of Robut’s cooperation.

Meanwhile, the event attracted attention with the visit of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who is also the owner of Yongin Speedway, and Korea & Company Group Chairman Cho Hyun-beom, who will be an official WRC sponsor next year.

An industry insider said, “As Chairman Chung Eui-sun and Chairman Akio are meeting in public for the first time, this meeting is a kind of ceremony, and it appears that the two companies have already agreed to engage in extensive cooperation in future business areas.”

Yongin = Reporter Kim Jae-won jkim@sportsworldi.com