Hyundai Motor is nurturing robotaxis as a new source of demand in response to slowing electric vehicle demand in the United States. On Sept. 19, electric vehicle news outlet InsideEVs reported that Hyundai Motor plans to produce tens of thousands of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Waymo at its Georgia plant in the United States.

Hyundai Motor Chief Executive Jose Munoz (호세 무뇨스) in San Jose, California, cited robotaxis as the biggest new opportunity for its EV business. He said that unlike rivals that opted for asset write-downs, Hyundai Motor responded by boosting the use of existing assets.

Hyundai Motor has also adjusted the production structure at Hyundai Motor Group's plant in Savannah, Georgia. It reduced the share of EV production and increased hybrid production. It is instead diverting EV production capacity to robotaxi volumes.

Hyundai Motor signed a vehicle supply agreement with Waymo in 2024, and is also producing the Ioniq 5 for its autonomous driving affiliate Motional. Munoz said the robotaxi manufacturing business is already profitable, adding that production of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Waymo is growing into a business division.

Hyundai Motor plans to deliver the first Ioniq 5 robotaxi that will not be used only for testing to Waymo in the fourth quarter. The vehicle will be equipped with Waymo's sixth-generation autonomous driving hardware. Unlike a Zeekr van that uses the same hardware, the Ioniq 5 is produced with the required equipment installed from the factory shipment stage.

Waymo currently operates about 4,000 vehicles in 14 U.S. cities. Hyundai Motor also left open the possibility of expanding its robotaxi business to customers beyond Waymo.