[Market Focus] Hyundai Motor Up 6% on Plans to Build AI Robotics Ecosystem

On January 6, Hyundai Motor shares showed strong performance in early trading. Investor attention appears to have intensified after the company announced its plans to build an artificial intelligence (AI) robotics ecosystem at the 'CES 2026,' the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition, held in Las Vegas, United States.

As of 9:18 a.m. on January 6, Hyundai Motor was trading at 323,000 won, up 18,500 won (6.08%) from the previous trading day.

On January 5 (local time) at CES 2026, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled its 'next-generation electric Atlas development model' to the public for the first time. The group announced plans to mass-produce the Atlas and sequentially deploy it at major manufacturing plants, including the dedicated U.S. electric vehicle plant, Meta Plant America (HMGMA), starting in 2028.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy the Atlas in the parts classification process at HMGMA from 2028 and assign it to more complex parts assembly tasks starting in 2030. Once its safety and quality are verified, the group intends to introduce it to other production processes as well.

In addition, the company detailed its plans to operate the Robot Meta Plant Application Center (RMAC). RMAC will serve as a core hub for data collection and mapping-based learning before robots are deployed to actual manufacturing sites. Robots trained at this center will be deployed to 'software-defined factories (SDF)' such as HMGMA.

Kim Seongrae, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, stated in a report on January 6, "It is important to see whether the mobility and robotics technology exhibitions unveiled at CES 2026 will materialize into concrete business developments throughout the year, rather than being just a one-time event." He added, "The visible application of Boston Dynamics' Atlas at HMGMA and the commercialization of Motional's robotaxi service in the U.S. could serve as catalysts for re-rating the company's stock value, thanks to the increased value of its equity holdings."

Kim also said, "The expected improvement in net profit for 2026 (+15.4%) due to the easing of tariff impacts is likely to raise expectations for substantial shareholder returns," and raised the target stock price to 340,000 won.