Hyundai Motor CTO Steps Down... Major Overhaul of HW-Centered R&D Announced

Establishment of Organization for Innovative R&D
"Rapid Changes in Mobility Market... Securing Competitiveness in Future Cars"

Kim Yong-hwa, Chief Technology Officer (CTO·President) who served as the head of research and development at Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, is stepping down. Kim, who was appointed head of R&D earlier this year and worked as the newly established CTO since June, is leaving the position in less than a year.

Inside and outside the company, Kim’s resignation, who mainly handled hardware (HW), is interpreted as a signal that Hyundai Motor Company and Kia’s research and development (R&D) is shifting to a software (SW)-centered approach. In the rapidly changing mobility market environment, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia plan to extensively reorganize their scattered R&D organizations within the company and find a new leader to head the new dedicated R&D organization.

On the 28th, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia announced that they will push for a comprehensive reorganization of the R&D organization, including Kim’s resignation, to consolidate future mobility R&D capabilities. They plan to establish an innovative R&D dedicated organization responsible for next-generation software (SW) and hardware (HW) architecture integrated optimization, as well as disruptive cost innovation attempts.

Kim Yong-hwa, President and CTO of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia [Photo by Yonhap News, Hyundai Motor Group]

The announcement of the organizational restructuring direction was made because the global mobility market is changing rapidly day by day, intensifying competition. The transition to SDV (Software Defined Vehicle), which centers on software not only for vehicle control but also for performance, is accelerating. As vehicle powertrains also shift to electrification such as electric vehicles, competition for leadership among companies is intensifying. The R&D environment for vehicle development inevitably must change as well.

Until now, Hyundai Motor Group’s R&D organizations were scattered across the global software center FortyTwoDot, internal Hyundai Motor Company and Kia organizations such as the CTO office, GSO (Global Strategy Office), and the SDV headquarters. Because of this dispersion, there have been continuous criticisms about the lack of consistency in innovation strategies and the complexity of collaboration systems. The organization to be newly established in January next year will take on the role of more efficiently coordinating and integrating these dispersed R&D capabilities.

Traditionally, the head of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia’s R&D division has been a specialist in mechanical fields, that is, hardware. Previous heads including Kim Yong-hwa, former head Park Jung-guk, former president Albert Biermann from BMW, former vice chairman Yang Woong-chul, and former head Lee Hyun-soon were all based on so-called ‘hardware’ research.

The specific organizational structure, name, and who the next CTO will be are still undecided. Song Chang-hyun, a developer by background who oversees software and autonomous driving tasks and was recruited externally, is being mentioned. It is also reported that there is a possibility of recruiting someone from outside. A company official said, "We are preparing to reorganize the R&D organization to secure future vehicle competitiveness including SDV early through synergy between software and hardware technologies."