South Korean carmaker Hyundai plans 'strategic' investment of $15.5 billion in India by 2032

Hyundai Motor Group's Executive Chair Chung Euisun is expanding the company's focus to physical AI, including autonomous driving and robotics. Under his leadership, Hyundai and Kia rose to third in global vehicle sales, with 2025 revenue exceeding $224 billion and operating profit reaching 20.55 trillion won. The group is investing heavily in AI, robotics, and electric vehicles, aiming to become a leader in physical AI solutions.

The KOSPI index fell 4.63% to 6,088.72, its fifth straight session of declines, driven by weak U.S. chip stocks and foreign investor selling. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped 4.79% and 5.17%, respectively, due to competition concerns from China's CXMT. Other large-cap stocks also declined, with the KOSDAQ down 2.58%.

Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS) each fell over 2% in premarket trading due to a U.S. chip selloff. Concerns about increased supply from a Chinese memory chipmaker weighed on the sector. Samsung traded at 245,000 won, down 2.20%, while SK hynix dropped 2.68% to 1.56 million won. Other large-cap stocks also declined.

Hyundai plans to increase its annual North American production capacity by 500,000 vehicles, investing $500M in Alabama operations. The company aims to boost locally sourced parts to 80% by 2030 and sell 5.5M vehicles globally by 2030, up from 4.1M in 2023. Hyundai Transys will expand its Georgia plant, adding 320 jobs.

Semiconductor ETFs with 18.9436 trillion won in assets will rebalance, reducing Samsung Electronics (005930) holdings by 209.8 billion won and increasing exposure to mid-cap suppliers. LG Electronics (066570) secured a 5GW chiller supply deal worth trillions. AllianceBernstein forecasts sustained AI investment, benefiting Korean chipmakers in memory and power.

KOSPI opened lower, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix down over 1% despite Micron's record results. U.S. inflation data was below expectations, but rising Treasury yields weighed on sentiment. Micron reported $54.23B revenue for Q4, exceeding estimates. Analysts note market focus on earnings strength amid high interest rates.