Hyundai Motor’s share price approached the upper price limit and, for the first time in its history, its market capitalization surpassed KRW 100 trillion.

On the 21st, Hyundai Motor’s share price closed at KRW 549,000 on the KOSPI market. This represented a sharp increase of 14.61 percent from the previous trading day, pushing Hyundai Motor’s market capitalization to KRW 112.4120 trillion at closing, and placing the company in the “KRW 100 trillion market cap club.” On the same day, shares of Hyundai Mobis (up 8.09 percent), Hyundai AutoEver (up 3.97 percent), and Hyundai WIA (up 7.21 percent) also surged across the board.

Since the beginning of this year alone, Hyundai Motor’s share price has risen by more than 80 percent. The industry views the company’s re-rating as being driven by its recognition as a “robotics company,” after the humanoid robot Atlas showcased at the world’s largest IT and home appliance exhibition, “CES 2026,” demonstrated its “physical AI” technological capabilities. Hyundai Motor also unveiled a concrete roadmap to deploy Atlas in 2028 at the Georgia plant of Meta Plant America (HMGMA), its U.S. electric vehicle–dedicated corporation. In addition, the recovery of its price competitiveness in the U.S. market, which had been at risk of being lost when tariffs on its vehicles temporarily rose relative to Japanese cars, is seen as a positive factor.

NH Investment & Securities analyst Haneul stated, “Depending on how quickly Hyundai Motor commercializes autonomous driving functions, which is its last remaining task, the share price could see another round of volatility.”

Market analysts also say that news from the previous day that Hyundai Motor had set up a business planning task force (TF) reporting directly to Vice Chairman Chang Jae-hoon contributed to the share price rally. This is being interpreted as a signal that the initial public offering (IPO) of Boston Dynamics, the robotics subsidiary that developed Atlas, is not far off. The TF is reported to include M&A experts, such as former Audit Office head Jun Sang-tae, who previously served as head of Planning & Coordination Office 2 at Hyundai Motor and Kia. The investment community estimates that Boston Dynamics could be valued at a minimum of KRW 40 trillion and as much as more than KRW 60 trillion.

In business circles, there is also an interpretation that the TF reporting directly to Vice Chairman Chang has been formed to conduct behind-the-scenes groundwork for the listing of Boston Dynamics and subsequent restructuring of the group’s governance. In 2018, Hyundai Motor Group announced a governance restructuring plan to split Hyundai Mobis, merge part of it with Hyundai Glovis, and turn it into a holding company, in order to resolve its circular shareholding structure. However, the plan collapsed in the face of opposition from activist fund Elliott and others.

Popular News