Hyundai Motor Group promotes Yang Hee-won to lead R&D division

Yang Hee-won

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. on Thursday announced the promotion of Vice President Yang Hee-won, head of Total Vehicle Development (TVD) in the research and development (R&D) division, to lead their recently reorganized R&D headquarters.

Yang is a seasoned executive with expertise in platform development, design, and project management.

The R&D headquarters will closely collaborate with the newly established Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division to accelerate the software-defined vehicle (SDV) strategy of Hyundai Motor and Kia.

Earlier, Hyundai Motor and Kia reorganized the R&D organization to fully implement the SDV strategy and increase their responsiveness to future mobility challenges.

The R&D division now runs on two main axes, focusing on the AVP division for future mobility technologies and reinforcing fundamental R&D capabilities.

SDV Head Song Chang-hyeon has been appointed as the new head of the AVP division.

In an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, Yang expressed his perspective on the industry, saying, “We should not view mass-produced vehicles leading the current market and future mobility technologies separately. We need to come together as one team, harnessing our strengths. While initial challenges between mass-produced vehicles and future mobility R&D are inevitable, I believe it is a competition where all parties should collaborate and run together.”