Home > Business > Industry

Hyundai Motor chief heads to APEC CEO Summit after meeting Saudi crown prince

Published: 28 Oct. 2025, 18:21 Updated: 28 Oct. 2025, 18:43

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, center, arrives at Pohang Gyeongju Airport in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 28. [NEWS1]

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung is heading to the APEC CEO Summit scheduled from Tuesday to Friday in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, after meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss expanded cooperation and inspecting the company’s first Middle East plant.

Chung returned to Korea via Pohang Gyeongju Airport on Tuesday and traveled directly to Gyeongju, according to Hyundai Motor Group.

Before his stop in Saudi Arabia, Chung visited the United States, where he played a round of golf with U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 18. His back-to-back visits underscore Hyundai Motor Group’s global strategy of strengthening on-the-ground business relationships.

Chung met with Prince Mohammed to discuss expanding cooperation across mobility, energy and smart city development.

The meeting followed Chung’s visit to Hyundai’s first Middle East production base in the King Salman Automotive Cluster in King Abdullah Economic City on Sunday, where the company is building a new plant through its local joint venture, Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Middle East, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Chung, accompanied by Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO José Muñoz, visited the construction site on Sunday and met with Saudi staff to discuss the group’s long-term growth strategy in the region.

“Building a production hub in Saudi Arabia marks a new chapter for Hyundai in the Middle East,” Chung said during the site visit. “Given the extreme desert climate, we must prepare thoroughly in every aspect to deliver mobility solutions that exceed customer expectations.”

The Saudi government is developing the King Salman complex as a strategic automotive cluster.

Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on its Hmmme facility there in May with PIF, which holds a 70 percent stake. The plant will have an annual capacity of 50,000 units and produce both internal combustion and electric vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group expects the facility to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2026.

The automaker aims to use the plant as a base not only for the Saudi market but also for exports across the broader Middle East and North Africa. Hyundai Motor Group is incorporating technologies tailored to local conditions, such as heat-resistant materials and advanced cooling systems. The company also expects to strengthen price competitiveness as the share of locally sourced components increases.

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, center, visits the company’s Saudi Arabia production subsidiary on Oct. 26 to review the construction progress of its new plant and assess sales strategies for the Saudi market. [NEWS1]

Saudi Arabia accounted for 34 percent of the Middle East’s total vehicle sales in 2024, with 840,000 units sold out of 2.49 million.

Hyundai Motor Company sold 98,530 vehicles and Kia Corporation sold 51,074 from January through September, giving them a combined market share of 30 percent and putting them close behind Toyota.

Hyundai Motor Company is also accelerating efforts to diversify its production and export portfolio beyond the United States by expanding in Europe, India and other key emerging markets. The strategy is part of a broader push to reduce tariff-related risks and enhance global supply chain stability.

In September, Hyundai Motor Company ranked third in Austria’s passenger vehicle market. In India, it appointed a local CEO to lead Hyundai Motor India Limited for the first time and pledged to invest 450 billion rupees ($5.3 billion) by 2030.

“Hyundai’s Saudi plant represents more than localization — it could become a strategic pivot point for the company’s entire Middle East supply chain,” said Lee Ho-geun, an automotive engineering professor at Daedeok University.

Chung is expected to meet Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong in Seoul on Thursday.

Hyundai Motor Company is actively incorporating AI into its autonomous driving and robotics programs, and industry observers are watching to see if the company deepens its partnership with Nvidia following the meeting.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PARK YOUNG-WOO [[email protected]]