Your local Hyundai dealer could one day start selling humanoid and canine robots.
“We have an existing potential distribution for robot sales through our dealer partners,” Hyundai CEO José Muñoz said during the company’s investor day. He added that Hyundai Capital, which already finances cars, is exploring whether it can do the same for robots.
The robotics plan has been in the making for years. In 2021, Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80% controlling stake in Boston dynamics in a deal where value is appreciated robotics company at $1.1 billion.
Boston Dynamics already sells Spot, a four-legged robot used for industrial inspections, and Stretch, a single-arm, wheeled robot designed to unload boxes from trucks and shipping containers. Hyundai has deployed Spot robots in its facilities for inspections and predictive maintenance. It has also said Spot would inspect the vehicle’s exterior in the US welding shop in Georgia Metaplantthat builds the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 EVs.
Next up is Atlas, Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot with a hull that can rotate 180 degrees. Muñoz said Hyundai would begin mass production of it soon. In May, Boston Dynamics posted a video of Atlas crouching down, lifting a mini refrigerator and carrying it to an engineer:
Hyundai is not alone in its robotics ambitions, especially in the automotive industry.
Figure’s robots move and sort heavy car parts at BMW’s assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Dexterity robotics signed a deal to bring his teal humanoids to Toyota’s Canadian factories. Apptronik’s humanoid Apollo robot also walks around Mercedes-Benz factories, helping to deliver parts to employees and inspect components.
Tesla is also developing a humanoid robot, Optimus, which Elon Musk has said it could eventually do work in factories and homes. Tesla is installing its first Optimus production lines in Fremont, California, in a factory where the Model S and Model X were previously built.
Consumer-friendly hominids remain much rarer.
1X is taking deposits for NEO, a home robot that costs $20,000 to own. The company says the first U.S. deliveries will begin this year. Chinese robotics company Unitree also sells humanoids online, including the $13,500 G1 and $4,900 R1, but those robots are largely marketed to researchers, developers, schools and enthusiasts.
What is unclear for Hyundai and Boston Dynamics is who would buy their robots. Hyundai representatives did not immediately say whether Muñoz was describing sales to individual consumers, commercial customers or both.
