The Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS) is an urban micro-factory. Urban micro-factories are characterized by a multi-vehicle, low-volume production system rather than mass production of a traditional automobile factory. Although Singapore has a small automobile market, it is considered a suitable testbed for the application of new technologies in the future mobility era.
The HMGICS, which opened on Nov. 21, is a seven-story building the size of six soccer fields in the Jurong Innovation District in western Singapore, according to Hyundai Motor Group.
The HMGICS features a multi-vehicle, low-volume production system with an intelligent, automated manufacturing platform. Instead of conveyor belts, the plant uses a cell system to produce different vehicle models. This will allow Hyundai Motor Group to produce 50,000 vehicles per year while also providing a base for testing new technologies. If the Ulsan EV plant, which recently held a groundbreaking ceremony, is a future production base, the HMGICS is an innovation center. Hyundai Motor Group says the two plants will be the two pillars of the next 50 years of the electrification era.
Hyundai Motor Group chose Singapore for its innovation center because of its location. Jurong Innovation District, where HMGICS is located, is a high-tech industrial park that is driving a digital transformation under an economic reform plan announced by the Singapore government in 2016. Under the pro-business policies of the Singapore government, Jurong Industrial Park, once known as Asia’s manufacturing base, has been reborn as an industrial park of the future.
As of 2021, Singapore had approximately 650,000 registered vehicles. Only 10 percent of the population owns a car due to the high cost of a Certificate of Operation (COE). Based on the size of the market alone, there is no reason for Hyundai Motor Group to establish a production facility there. But while Singapore may seem small in market size, it has significant economic power. It is a regional logistics, financial, and business hub in Southeast Asia with a strong interest in new services and technologies. It is considered an optimal location for a testbed for new technologies.
Hyundai Motor Group knows this point. “Factors such as open and forward-looking government policies, a stable business and economic environment, and strong and abundant human resources are suitable for the purposes and infrastructure of HMGICS,” a Hyundai Motor Group official said. “We built HMGICS in Singapore in line with Hyundai Motor Group’s vision to realize a future mobility innovation hub through the convergence of people and technology.”
Hyundai Motor Group plans to enhance its brand competitiveness in the Southeast Asian market with HMGICS. This is why HMGICS will not only produce cars, but also deliver them to customers. The goal is to increase sales by raising brand power in the region dominated by Japanese automakers such as Toyota and Honda. Hyundai and Kia sold 198,000 vehicles in total in Southeast Asia in 2022. Their main production bases are Indonesia and Vietnam. Hyundai Motor Group recently established a subsidiary in Thailand to accelerate its penetration of the region.