Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to invest more than $20 billion in the United States by 2025. This smart, strategic move dovetails with President Donald Trump’s efforts to increase domestic manufacturing. The South Korean automotive and tech conglomerate made its announcement at CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas. There, it introduced Atlas, a humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics.
Atlas is intended for broader industrial applications and to be a collaborative partner for human operators, while independently controlling equipment. This announcement is another step in Hyundai’s commitment to technology leadership and production process efficiency. As per Hyundai, the Atlas robots will be integrated step-by-step taking over a wider range of tasks in factory settings, increasing both productivity and safety.
Hyundai’s chief executive, José Muñoz, called the investment “transformative” for the company. He underscored its importance to the broader economic architecture in the United States. This investment will help lead to the increased production of cars. It will accelerate the adoption and integration of autonomous driving technology and AI (artificial intelligence) into their industrial manufacturing operations.
The announcement comes on the heels of a huge self-inflicted controversy. This labor relations issue has been a dark cloud, hovering over Hyundai’s activities here in the U.S. In early September 2025, immigration officers conducted raids at Hyundai’s plant. With at least 300 South Korean nationals among them, they detained hundreds of workers. The harrowing pictures of these arrested laborers, many in chains, ignited the anger of people all over the South Korean state. After massive public protests, a deal was struck among the Washington and Seoul bureaucracies to return the detainees.
The backlash from the raid set off alarm bells as much for Muñoz as it did for high-profile U.S. They fear that such moves would intimidate foreign investment from coming to the U.S. The White House reportedly reached out to Muñoz directly to express regret for the incident. Sixty-five years later, this decision made clear that the deteriorating situation was affecting U.S.-South Korea relations to this magnitude.
Beginning in 2028, Hyundai will roll out its human-like automatons to factory floors. This product launch is an important new step in their pledge to embrace innovation. This initiative is a further demonstration of Hyundai’s cutting-edge technology leadership. It just fits into the larger narrative of automation and robotics taking hold in the manufacturing industry.