Mary Barra, President and CEO of General Motors, and Euisun Chung, Executive Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, during the signing of an agreement between the two companies to explore future collaboration in key strategic areas.
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DETROIT — General Motors and Hyundai Engine have signed an agreement to explore “future collaboration in key strategic areas” in an effort to reduce capital expenditure and increase efficiency, the companies announced Thursday.
Potential areas of focus for the automakers include co-development and production of passenger and commercial vehicles, internal combustion engines, and clean energy, electric and hydrogen technologies, they said in a joint press release.
The agreement, a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, comes at a time when the auto industry has renewed its focus on capital efficiency after years of aggressive spending to develop electric, autonomous and software-defined vehicles that have yet to translate into profitable businesses.
The automakers also said they will “review combined sourcing opportunities in areas such as battery raw materials, steel and other areas.”
The framework agreement was signed by Hyundai Motor Group Chief Executive Euisun Chung and GM President and CEO Mary Barra, the companies said.
A GM Hydrotec fuel cell power cube on display at the joint venture's facility with Honda in Brownstown, Michigan.
Michael Wayland/CNBC
Spokespeople for the companies declined to provide additional details about the announcement, including possible capital investments or expected savings or efficiency gains.
The agreement comes months after Barra said now is an “ideal time” for the industry to collaborate on sharing capital expenditures. Both Barra and Chung echoed those comments in remarks Thursday.
“GM and Hyundai have complementary strengths and talented teams. Our goal is to leverage the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers more quickly and efficiently,” Barra said.
“This partnership will enable Hyundai Motor and GM to evaluate opportunities to enhance competitiveness in key markets and vehicle segments, as well as drive cost efficiencies and deliver greater customer value through our combined expertise and innovative technologies,” Chung said.
According to a spokesman, this is the first such deal for Hyundai. GM, for its part, has been involved in many partnerships or deals. Some of these have resulted in products, but many others have not worked out or have not achieved as much as initially hoped.
In particular, GM and Honda Engine They have been involved in several partnerships related to fuel cells, all-electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles, the latter with Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of GM. Success with each has been mixed.
A memorandum of understanding announced between GM and Nikola Corp. in 2020 failed to produce any significant results amid a litany of problems with the once-promising automotive startup.
In the early 2010s, before Barra was CEO, GM had notable partnerships with Ford Engine and the former French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroën, now Stellantiswhich also did not give the expected results.
