Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun signs the hood of a vehicle during a ceremony to commemorate the 20th anniversary of California Proving Ground in the Mojave Desert, Monday (local time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai Motor and Kia celebrated the 20th anniversary of quality and performance testing at the California Proving Ground, with their chief emphasizing the importance of cutting-edge R&D facilities for future growth.

According to Hyundai Motor Group, Executive Chair Chung Euisun, Vice Chair Chang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor CEO Jose Munoz, and several other top executives from the conglomerates attended the ceremony on Monday (local time) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the facility.

“The Hyundai Motor Group has made exceptional progress over the past 20 years, thanks in part to our California Proving Ground and the outstanding work of our team there,” Chung said during the ceremony.

“As we look to the future, we must focus on pioneering technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, software-defined vehicles, electrification and hydrogen technology. Facilities like the California Proving Ground will be critical to that innovation and will help shape the next 20 years of Hyundai Motor Group, turning challenges into opportunities and setbacks into successes.”

Vehicles are being test driven at Hyundai Motor Group's California Proving Ground in the Mojave Desert in this undated handout photo. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group

In 2005, Hyundai Motor Group invested 120 billion won ($82.57 million) to complete the facility. Located in the Mojave Desert, the proving ground features a 17.7 square-kilometer facility that serves as the center for evaluating new Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis vehicles in North America.

The proving ground features a 10.3-kilometer oval track, a vehicle dynamics area, a 5-kilometer winding road track, off-road evaluation loops, and various specially surfaced roads designed to replicate U.S. highways.

Researchers at the facility perform full vehicle evaluations, durability and development testing. Vehicle development operations include ride and handling evaluations; noise, vibration and harshness tests and heat protection assessments. The ground also features three fully equipped garages and a material-weathering facility to accelerate and assess ultraviolet degradation.

For the past two decades, more than 5,000 Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis vehicles have undergone tough testing at the proving ground, covering more than 32 million kilometers.

The proving ground is one of the facilities of the Hyundai America Technical Center, which was set up in 1986 as the headquarters of the group's automotive research. The center supports new model development for North American operations and global programs.

The group said it directly or indirectly employs more than 570,000 people in the U.S. and has invested over $20.5 billion in the country since 2002.