At Hyundai Motor's plant in Pune, India, the number of robots was expanded from 6 during the GM era to 204, making the body production process, including automated welding, almost fully automated. The investment is reportedly worth approximately $9 billion.
Automation centered on robotic arms has advanced at Hyundai Motor's plant in Pune, Maharashtra, India, resulting in a major overhaul of the former GM facility. Hyundai Motor has been producing Venue vehicles at the plant since acquiring it at the end of 2023, and the number of robots increased from 6 to 204, while welding operations were fully automated.
With automation, the body production process is completed in approximately 3 hours, and quality checks are performed using 3D measuring machines and laser scanners. AI-based safety management has also been introduced, with virtual production lines and monitoring equipment improving worker safety.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to continue investing in factory automation and has announced plans to invest approximately $15.5 billion in India from 2026 to 2032. It plans to allocate 60% of that amount to upgrading and expanding aging production facilities, with the remainder allocated to AI and startups, and to research and development, respectively. The production capacity of the Pune plant is also expected to be rapidly expanded from the current 170,000 vehicles per year to 320,000.