Hyundai Group

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Hyundai Motor Group, the largest successor to the Hyundai business, is the world’s third-largest automaker.

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Hyundai Group is a large family-run business group (chaebol) in South Korea. It was founded in 1947 as a construction firm by Chung Ju-yung and is based in Seoul. The company grew during the post–World War II industrialization of South Korea from a local builder into one of the country’s largest business groups, expanding into automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, heavy industries, consumer electronics, finance, and retail, while developing a global presence.

After the Asian financial crisis of 1997–98, Hyundai Group underwent major restructuring. In the early 2000s, units such as Hyundai Motor Group (established 2000), Hyundai Department Store Group (2001), and Hyundai Heavy Industries Group (2002) became independent conglomerates, each developing its own management and strategy. Since the restructuring, the name Hyundai Group refers to a smaller set of companies focused mainly on logistics and services, while many of the industrial and consumer businesses historically associated with the Hyundai name are managed independently by successor groups.

Among the successor chaebols, Hyundai Motor Group is the largest and most internationally prominent. It includes subsidiaries and affiliates involved in automobile manufacturing, financing, rail systems, and mobility technologies. Flagship companies within the group include:

The group has manufacturing plants, research and development centers, and sales operations in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa. It is the world’s third-largest automaker, after Toyota Motor (TM) and Volkswagen Group, and employs about 250,000 workers worldwide.

Hyundai Motor Group develops technologies and produces products in electrification, autonomous driving, and smart mobility, which includes technologies that let vehicles share data with each other and with road systems such as traffic lights and road sensors, and car-sharing, ride-hailing, and similar services. Its products include hybrid, battery-electric, and fuel cell vehicles, as well as gasoline and diesel models.

The group researches and develops robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technology (including systems that let vehicles run many functions through centralized software that can be updated rather than using fixed hardware). The group is organized as a vertically integrated company, which means it oversees most stages of production, from making parts to selling finished vehicles.

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Workers detained in the U.S. immigration raid at Hyundai’s Georgia battery plant in 2025 were sent back to South Korea on flights arranged by their government.

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In September 2025, U.S. immigration authorities carried out a raid at a battery plant in Ellabell, Georgia, that was being built through a joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and LG Energy Solution. About 475 workers, most of them South Korean nationals along with others from several countries, were detained, and construction was temporarily slowed while the companies reorganized the labor force. No wrongdoing by Hyundai itself was alleged; the action focused on labor authorizations among subcontracted workers.

The raid was described by U.S. officials as the largest single-site immigration enforcement action in U.S. history. It prompted formal protests from the South Korean government and highlighted the legal and logistical risks global manufacturers face when large projects depend on complex international labor networks.

The successor groups that emerged from the former Hyundai Group operate worldwide in industries including automobiles, shipbuilding, construction, retail, and insurance. For example, Hyundai Motor Group has manufacturing and sales networks on five continents. Hyundai Heavy Industries Group focuses on global shipbuilding and energy markets, and Hyundai Department Store Group concentrates on retail and consumer finance within South Korea and parts of Asia.

Hyundai Group’s growth from a small builder to an array of independent companies parallels the rapid industrialization of South Korea. The successors to the original group focus on global manufacturing, engineering, finance, and commerce.