Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, left, shakes hands with Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda during the Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival at the Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda met in public for the first time, Sunday, implying that the rival carmakers may work together to strengthen their global alliance for hydrogen mobility.
Their meeting took place during the Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival, co-hosted by the two carmakers at the Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.
Beginning with Toyoda's performance driving of a car carrying Chung, the festival kicked off to showcase high-performance cars of both companies and to attract more people to enjoy motorsports. Toyoda is a master driver who races for his company's Gazoo Racing Team under the name “Morizo.”
Hyundai Motor also invited Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Hankook & Company Chairman Cho Hyun-bum to the event.
Toyota is one of the major customers of Harman, a Samsung Electronics subsidiary supplying audio and electronic equipment for cars. Hankook Tire & Technology, a subsidiary of Hankook & Company, provides Toyota with tires for various vehicles, including trucks and electric cars.
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun, right, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, center, and Hankook & Company Chairman Cho Hyun-bum watch the race track during the Hyundai N x Toyota Gazoo Racing Festival at the Everland Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. Yonhap
“When I met with Akio in Japan earlier this year, I was so delighted as he proposed this event, citing our enthusiasm for motorsports,” Chung said after the show-run. “He is the person I respect the most in the automobile industry, so I've been trying to learn from him.”
Toyoda vowed to explore the future of mobility in collaboration with Hyundai Motor, indicating that the event was also the venue for the two chairmen to discuss hydrogen cooperation.
In recent years, both companies have been making large-scale investments in hydrogen vehicles.
Hyundai Motor, which rolled out its NEXO hydrogen fuel cell SUV in 2018 and aims to invest 11 trillion won ($8 billion) in hydrogen mobility by 2030, displayed the N Vision 74 hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicle at the venue, while Toyota exhibited its concept cars powered by hydrogen.
Last month, the Korean carmaker joined hands with General Motors for their potential cooperation projects on hydrogen and other clean energy technologies.
Toyota, which started mass-producing the Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2014, also agreed with BMW last month to strengthen hydrogen partnership.
If Hyundai Motor and Toyota decide to cooperate in the hydrogen mobility industry, the global automotive industry will be able to share the burden of establishing infrastructure, including charging stations.
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However, there remains criticism that their cooperation may be limited to the robotics sector, due to their fierce competition in the manufacturing of hydrogen and hybrid vehicles. Boston Dynamics, a robotics affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, joined hands with Toyota Research Institute recently to develop humanoid robots with artificial intelligence.