Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore

Automakers usually build their motor vehicles in markets that they intend to sell in, often due to government policies that make it disadvantageous to import cars in CBU (completely built-up) form. The market size is also important and if it is large, it makes more sense to build locally as a larger volume can be quickly available, compared to shipping whole cars by sea.

In the ASEAN region, the largest volumes of vehicles sold each year are in Thailand and Indonesia, while the smallest are in Brunei (around 11,500 units) and Singapore (31,000 units in 2022). The populations of Brunei and Singapore are small so the lower volumes are understandable. Furthermore, Singapore has tightly controlled its vehicle population for some 40 years after local assembly ceased, putting more money into public transport than building more highways.

IONIQ 5 assembled in Jurong
So it was surprising that Hyundai Motor chose to assemble its IONIQ 5 EV in the republic. The first cars started rolling out in the first half of this year at a facility in the Jurong Innovation District known as the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore (HMGICS).

The highly automated facility is currently assembling only the IONIQ 5 but will add the IONIQ 6 and KONA Electric in due course. By 2025, annual output is expected to reach 30,000 units. Obviously Hyundai will also export them and with the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area) privileges, they can be exported to ASEAN countries duty-free.

New experience for customers
Customers will be able to customize and purchase vehicles online, which will immediately start production using Hyundai’s on-demand technology. The customers can then watch their car being manufactured at HMGICS. Once the car is ready for delivery, it will be transferred to the 620-metre-long Sky Track where the future owner can test drive the vehicle.

The building will also feature a landing port for Urban Air Mobility as well as solar panels providing the site with clean renewable energy. The centre will gradually expand its use of renewable energy to eventually use fuel cells for power supply to minimize emissions from power generation.

R&D for future mobility solutions
Besides being Singapore’s first robotics smart factory for EVs, HMGICS is also where the Korean carmaker will explore new business ideas, technologies and develop future mobility solutions. The US$295 million (RM1.39 billion) facility was announced in October 2020  but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its development schedule till this year.

Next week, the Hyundai Motor Group will fully open HMGICS as its first smart urban mobility hub. At HMGICS, the carmaker will showcase its ‘unprecedented human-centric, flexible production platform’. This will encompass a highly innovative integration between human and robotic processes.

The company says that, besides redefining the future of mobility production, HMGICS also aims to set new standards in customer experience as a smart urban mobility hub. It will serve as a testbed for human-centric intelligent automotive manufacturing technology, utilising advanced, next-generation production methods significantly evolved from traditional conveyor-belt manufacturing.

The facility will utilize the latest ‘Industry 4.0’ smart technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. The logistics and assembly lines within HMGICS will be highly automated to establish a safe and efficient work environment. The Group will also test versatile systems that produce multiple models, to respond efficiently to fast changing market environments.

“HMGICS is a major step forward for Hyundai Motor. The facility is the first of its kind in the world. It will pave the way for more Korean companies to invest here, partner with local suppliers and SMEs, and collaborate with our universities and research institutes,” said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. “Singapore’s goal is to have all our vehicles run on cleaner energy by 2040, in line with our Paris Agreement commitments. We hope this will open up new growth areas for our economy, and create exciting jobs for Singaporeans.”

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