Hyundai Motor Group to host Motional CEO

Motional CEO Laura Major

Hyundai Motor Group is set to welcome the new CEO of its U.S.-based autonomous driving joint venture, Motional, to an upcoming board meeting, aiming to recalibrate its strategy for the self-driving car market.

The South Korean business group is Motional’s largest shareholder and is continuing its investment in advancing technology, while also collaborating with Google’s autonomous taxi subsidiary Waymo, to establish a robust mobility ecosystem.

According to industry sources on Monday, Laura Major, Motional’s recently appointed CEO and chief technology officer (CTO), will visit Korea this week to attend a Kia board meeting. Major, who took over the CEO role in September 2024, is expected to align her visit with Kia’s third-quarter earnings report. She will provide an update on Motional’s technological development and discuss potential new business initiatives during the meeting.

Discussions will also likely include ways to strengthen cooperation between Motional and Hyundai’s Namyang Research Center.

“While we cannot disclose the specific agenda of the meeting, it will focus on sharing and discussing topics related to future technology development,” a Hyundai Motor Group official said.

Hyundai Motor Group and the U.S. technology firm Aptiv jointly established Motional in 2020, with each investing $2 billion. But the commercialization of autonomous driving technology has progressed more slowly than anticipated, contributing to financial challenges for Motional. In response, Aptiv is considering whether to exit its stake in the joint venture, a move underscored by the recent departure of Aptiv CEO Karl Iagnemma.

Despite these setbacks, Hyundai Motor Group reaffirmed its commitment to Motional by participating in the company’s recent capital increase, purchasing an additional 11 percent stake. This investment, totaling 1.26 trillion won ($920 million), raised Hyundai’s ownership in Motional from 49.81 percent to 85 percent.

Industry analysts interpret Hyundai Motor Group’s increased investment as a sign of the group’s continued optimism about the future of the autonomous vehicle market.