Hyundai Mobis to build 2nd R&D center in India

Hyundai Mobis will build its second R&D center in India near the first one in Hyderabad, the capital of southern India's Telangana state, the company announced Monday. The Hyderabad R&D center dedicated to automotive software has over 700 employees, focusing on the development and demonstration of the software.

The main focus of Mobis R&D center is electric parts that are increasingly more adopted by cars, such as applications related to in-vehicle infotainment based on navigation, audio system, etc., airbag control unit, and Mobis Electronic BrakeV 5.0. Meanwhile, the second R&D center will focus on not only software needed for self-driving cars to drive and park but also to read and process surrounding data from various sensors, such as cameras and radars. The first R&D center will also develop products customized to local clients in India while reinforcing existing research. In particular, it will create a demonstrative program to further improve the performance of software required for self-driving.

Currently, Hyundai Mobis has R&D centers in South Korea, the U.S., Germany, India, and China. The ones in South Korea, the U.S., and Germany conduct research on self-driving technologies while the one in China is operated with the goal to develop OEM products. There are over 5,000 employees working at their R&D centers.

The South Korean car parts manufacturer is running Mobis Ventures in Silicon Valley in the U.S. and Shenzhen in China to develop convergence technologies with various start-ups. “We won 1.7 billion dollars worth of overseas orders thanks to our proactive R&D efforts,” said a member of Hyundai Mobis. “This year, we are aiming to win 2.7 billion dollars in overseas orders.”


Hyung-Seok Seo skytree08@donga.com