Hyundai Motor Group to expand its business interests in the Middle East beyond industrial infrastructure into auto production and eco-friendly energy· The Group’s pursuit of new business opportunities in the region is in its DNA since Hyundai Motor Founding Chairman Ju-yung Chung’s pioneering forays in the 1970s· Executive Chair Euisun Chung visits the construction site of the underground tunnel that is being built by Hyundai Engineering & Construction for the NEOM megaproject· The Group expects to further expand its businesses in the Middle East market, including a new Hyundai Motor manufacturing plant, an ecosystem for hydrogen-based mobility and construction of high-tech power plants
Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) is accelerating its business diversification in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia, where a major transformation in economic and industrial structures offers enormous potential for growth in a variety of industries.
The Group’s pursuit of new business interests in the region is in its DNA. Hyundai Motor Company’s Founding Chairman Ju-yung Chung succeeded in various businesses in the Middle East in the 1970s, including the construction of the Jubail Industrial Port in Saudi Arabia.
Now, the Group’s new business opportunities include establishing a vehicle manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia to serve the regional market, cooperating in the development of a hydrogen mobility ecosystem, and expanding orders for high-tech power plants.
Executive Chair Chung visits megaproject construction site in Saudi Arabia
This week, Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of the Group, visited the construction site of the NEOM megaproject, a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s future vision. On October 23, he reviewed the progress on the underground tunnel for NEOM’s linear city, The LINE, where around 2,500 people are working, including executives and employees of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C).
During the visit, Executive Chair Chung thanked the Hyundai Engineering & Construction executives and employees for their hard work, commenting: “Hyundai Motor Group will support and develop its ongoing history with Hyundai Engineering & Construction. This history has been built on trust, and we will actively support this with our collective sense of responsibility – quality and safety should be a top priority above all else.”
Seamless commitments to include vehicle manufacturing, hydrogen mobility and energy
On October 22, Group affiliate Hyundai Motor Company signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to establish a high-tech vehicle manufacturing plant that will build 50,000 vehicles per year, including internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles (EVs). The groundbreaking is planned for 2024 and production is expected to begin in 2026.
In addition, Hyundai Motor has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH), Air Products Qudra (APQ) and the Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) to establish and develop an ecosystem for hydrogen-based mobility in Saudi Arabia. The parties have agreed to establish a hydrogen-based mobility ecosystem in Saudi Arabia and to provide support on technological services and human resources.
The Group is already at the forefront of the hydrogen energy transition in Saudi Arabia, having exported two ELEC CITY Fuel Cell buses to the market in 2020, followed by the XCIENT Fuel Cell heavy-duty truck in 2021.
Hyundai E&C aims to expand its engineering and construction business in Saudi Arabia on infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of the second phase of the Jafurah gas field.
In June, Hyundai E&C was named the operator of the ‘Amiral’ project, a large-scale petrochemical complex facility project conducted by Aramco that is worth about KRW 6.5 trillion ($4.8 billion), the largest ever order received by a Korean company from Saudi Arabia.
Hyundai E&C is working on projects in five Middle Eastern countries, including the Mazan gas and oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia, the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Lusail Plaza Tower in Qatar, the Shuwaikh Port renovation project in Kuwait, and the Basra refinery in Iraq. Overall, it is engaged in 23 construction projects worth a total of KRW 26.3 trillion ($19.4 billion).
Group affiliate Hyundai Rotem is expanding its presence in the Middle East with its involvement on the Cairo electric train project worth KRW 756 billion ($558 million), ordered by the Egyptian Tunnel Authority (NAT). Hyundai Rotem also expects to enter the Middle East railway infrastructure field based on its technology for eco-friendly railways, such as hydrogen electric trams.
Group affiliate Hyundai Steel is also strengthening its competitiveness in the Middle East with a diverse portfolio of energy products, including plates, long sections and steel pipes. Last year, it supplied heavy plates to Saudi Arabia’s Juaymah Crude Terminal and is developing new steel pipe materials for gas transportation in response to the expansion of LNG energy projects in the region.
