Hyundai Mobis announced on the 7th that it has integrated and opened a software-focused research base in Hyderabad, Telangana, known as the Silicon Valley of India.
Hyundai Mobis established its India research center in 2007 and has been operating a second research center since 2020. Recently, as the number of software research and development personnel has increased, it newly established a large-scale research facility to accommodate additional personnel and to maximize synergies by consolidating its distributed research bases.
With the opening of the integrated R&D center in India, Hyundai Mobis will expand the operation of its India research center, which specializes in research and development of vehicle software. As the number of high-value-added products equipped with software has increased among Hyundai Mobis' major orders, the role of the India research center in validating and interpreting this software is also growing.
The integrated research base, located in the center of Hyderabad, has a total floor area of about 24,000 square meters and is situated in a commercial area where major global IT companies are concentrated, making it easy to secure excellent software talent. The 10-story building houses research spaces, data centers, laboratories and training rooms, collaboration spaces for partners, and break facilities for employees.
The background of Hyundai Mobis' establishment of a software integrated research base is intertwined with the rapidly growing Indian automotive market. According to global research agencies, new vehicle sales in India are at about 5.2 million units, making it the third largest market in the world, and it is expected to grow to approximately 6.2 million units in annual sales by 2028.
In particular, as the Indian automotive market shifts from small cars to increasing sales of SUVs and electric vehicles, there is a trend of actively applying advanced features such as large displays and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for Level 2 autonomy. Accordingly, Hyundai Mobis is focusing efforts to make the India research center a strategic hub for expanding global orders.
To this end, Hyundai Mobis aims to nurture the India research center as a research and development hub driving product cost competitiveness, performance, quality, and technology based on the wealth of software development personnel there. It plans to collaborate with nearby vehicle software companies in Hyderabad to create an external ecosystem and continually recruit excellent talent. Through this, the India research center aims to develop into a global software hub with independent business capabilities, and furthermore, use it as a forward base to provide integrated solutions to overseas automakers.
In the future, Hyundai Mobis plans to increase participation from the India research center in the early stages of new product development, develop software for local vehicle models independently, and focus on enhancing productivity efficiency through the introduction of artificial intelligence, thereby expanding the scope of software research and development at the India center.
Lee Jong-geun, head of the India research center at Hyundai Mobis, noted, "The India research center has a broad pool of developers, allowing for many new research and development attempts to be made." He added, "Based on nearly 20 years of experience in developing mass-produced vehicle models, we will promote software advancement and contribute to enhancing product competitiveness."
Currently, Hyundai Mobis is accelerating the development of integrated hardware and software platforms that reflect the software-defined vehicle (SDV) trend. This integrated platform is expected to emerge as a one-stop solution that can provide flexible responses tailored to customers and vehicle segments, supporting cost reductions for global customers and enhancing research and development environments.
Hyundai Mobis operates overseas research centers in a total of four countries, including the Maebuk research center in Yongin and the Uiwang research center in South Korea, as well as in India, Germany, and China. This year, Hyundai Mobis plans to establish a semiconductor research base in Silicon Valley, USA, while focusing on the development of autonomous driving key technologies at the existing North American research center in Detroit. The European research center in Frankfurt, Germany, will focus on developing technologies related to autonomous driving sensors, while the Shanghai research center in China is responsible for real vehicle evaluations and design improvements of modules, braking, and steering components produced locally.
[OSEN] reporter.