Hyundai Motor Group Participates in 1 Trillion Won Shareholder-Allocated Paid-in Capital Increase
Maintains Stake Percentage... Accelerates Group's SDV Transition
Hyundai Motor Group is making an additional investment of approximately 1 trillion KRW in its global software center, FortyTwoDot. This move aims to strengthen FortyTwoDot, a key affiliate responsible for the group's software development, and accelerate the transition to SDV (Software Defined Vehicle).
On the 25th, Hyundai Motor Group announced its participation in a paid-in capital increase by rights offering of FortyTwoDot amounting to 1.0539 trillion KRW. The investment scale is 632.4 billion KRW from Hyundai Motor Company and 421.5 billion KRW from Kia. Since the investment is made through a rights offering, the shareholding ratios remain unchanged at 55.9% for Hyundai Motor and 37.3% for Kia. The investment funds will be paid in installments over three years.
Previously, Hyundai Motor Group announced a goal to convert all vehicle models to SDV by 2025. To strengthen software competitiveness, it plans to invest 18 trillion KRW by 2030. This investment is part of the blueprint Hyundai Motor Group has presented for the SDV transition.
FortyTwoDot was founded in 2019 by CEO Song Chang-hyun, who previously worked at Naver Labs. Hyundai Motor Group showed interest from the early stages of the business and made a strategic investment. In August 2021, it acquired a 93.2% stake through a 477.2 billion KRW investment, fully incorporating the company as an affiliate. Since then, FortyTwoDot has served as Hyundai Motor Group’s global software center, acting as a hub for software development including mobility integrated platforms and autonomous driving technologies.
Not only Hyundai Motor Group but most global automakers are pushing for SDV transition starting in 2025. Securing software development capabilities has become more important than ever. Global automakers have separated their software development organizations into affiliates and operate them independently. Examples of software development affiliates of global automakers include Volkswagen’s CARIAD, Toyota’s Woven Planet Holdings, and GM’s Cruise.
With this investment, Hyundai Motor Group is empowering its affiliate FortyTwoDot to speed up the SDV transition. This bold investment reflects the determination of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun toward the SDV transition. Hyundai Motor Group explained the investment background, stating, "We will swiftly implement SDV by leveraging FortyTwoDot’s software expertise and accelerate company-wide SDV transition."
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