Hyundai has unveiled a sweeping technology roadmap that will cut electric vehicle battery costs by roughly 30%, extend battery lifespan by a fifth, and bring Level 2+ semi-autonomous driving to production cars by 2028. The announcements, made during the automaker's investor day, signal an aggressive push to lower EV prices while improving performance and self-driving capability across its global lineup.
The centrepiece is a new family of in-house developed battery cells. Hyundai says the upcoming mid-nickel NCM cells will reduce battery costs by approximately 30% while maintaining optimal performance under real-world driving conditions. The cells also deliver more than double the output of the high-nickel cells used previously and cut charging time by 40%. Crucially, the new batteries pack 30% more energy than equivalent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries of the same size, giving Hyundai a cost and density advantage in the mid-market EV segment. The new cells are expected to debut in the upcoming Tucson or Genesis range-extended vehicle, with wider adoption across the EV lineup starting next year.
Hyundai is also improving its cloud-based battery management system, which the company says will extend battery life by an average of 20% by 2028. This software-driven approach to longevity is designed to reassure buyers about long-term ownership costs, a key barrier to EV adoption. On the autonomous driving front, Hyundai confirmed that the first Ioniq 5 robotaxis built for Waymo will be delivered in the fourth quarter of this year, enabling an international expansion of robotaxi services as early as 2027. Separately, Hyundai-owned Motional will use Ioniq 5 robotaxis for commercial operations in Las Vegas later this year, with additional cities to follow in 2027.
For consumer vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group is standardising its sensor architecture around the NVIDIA ecosystem, allowing data acquired by Hyundai Motor, Kia, 42dot, and Motional to be integrated to a single consistent standard. This means learnings from one company can be applied across the group. Hyundai is also deploying its autonomous driving artificial intelligence, known as Atria AI, by the end of this year. The system will power the company's Level 2+ driver assistance technology, which arrives in 2028, and will be extended progressively across mass-produced vehicles, building a full lineup of autonomous driving capability from Level 2+ to Level 4. Since Hyundai sells millions of vehicles annually, the data collected will be used to rapidly improve the AI's self-driving capabilities.
The automaker also announced an expansion of its partnership with Amazon. Amazon Autos listings will be extended to markets outside the United States next year, and Alexa built-in will roll out across the Hyundai lineup, with Genesis models following. Hyundai is relying on Amazon Web Services to accelerate its cloud and AI capabilities, and Amazon is said to be evaluating the use of Hyundai fuel cell vehicles.
With more than 100 new models planned by 2030, Hyundai is ramping up global production capacity by 1.27 million units. North American plants will gain 500,000 units of capacity, Indian facilities will add 320,000 units, Korean production will increase by 200,000 vehicles, and CKD sites will grow by 250,000 units. In North America, Hyundai is raising its local parts sourcing target to 80%, up from 60%, and confirmed there will be more than ten hybrids produced on the continent by 2030 at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama and Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.