Hyundai Motor to Collaborate with NVIDIA on Autonomous Driving by 2028… Announces 800 Billion Won Share Buyback and Cancellation

NVIDIA reported astonishing year-over-year growth of 100%, but the market's reaction was restrained. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, analyzed that the valuation relative to earnings did not adequately reflect future value. This is because market expectations were already largely priced into the stock.

Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, hinted at the Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board's possibility of freezing the base rate. He noted that while economic growth is positive, increasing household debt could be a variable. However, he added that the situation is not severe enough for an interest rate hike to cause a massive market shock, suggesting a cautious approach rather than an urgent increase.

Hyundai Motor aims to achieve global sales of 5.5 million units and launch over 100 new models by 2030. Furthermore, it plans to mass-produce NVIDIA-based Level 2+ autonomous vehicles by 2028 and operate an AI data center in Saemangeum by 2029, preparing for the future mobility era. This strategy demonstrates Hyundai Motor's ambition to evolve beyond a mere car manufacturer into a data-driven smart mobility solutions company.

Hyundai Motor plans to actively utilize data collected from mass-produced vehicles for AI training to advance autonomous driving technology. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, projected that Hyundai Motor's accumulated data volume would surpass that of its competitor, Tesla, around 2033. This analysis is based on Hyundai Motor's high sales volume accelerating data acquisition.

Hyundai Motor has set a goal to maintain an operating profit margin of over 9% by 2030. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, explained that this is a very high profitability target for an automobile manufacturer. This demonstrates Hyundai Motor's commitment to strengthening profitability and reinvesting it in future car development.

Hyundai Motor is accelerating its autonomous driving business expansion by officially confirming the supply of IONIQ 5 to Waymo. Additionally, its autonomous driving subsidiary, Motional, plans to launch its autonomous vehicles next year. Furthermore, it aims to expand global production capacity to 1.27 million units by 2030 to flexibly respond to market changes and proactively meet future mobility demand.

Hyundai Motor is pursuing large-scale production plans to strengthen global production capacity, including 500,000 units in North America, 320,000 in India, and 200,000 in Korea. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, noted that unlike most automobile companies that are downsizing factories, Hyundai Motor is expanding its production capacity. This shows that Hyundai Motor has a unique structure of using current profits for future car development.

Hyundai Motor announced its commitment to enhancing shareholder value by canceling all of its 800 billion won in treasury shares, maintaining a shareholder return ratio of over 35%, and keeping dividends at 10,000 won. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, reported that these announcements were made the previous day. Additionally, Hyundai Motor revealed plans to deploy Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot, Atlas, at its HMGMA plant in the US by 2028, signaling innovation in future production systems.

OpenAI released performance measurement results for 'Habanero,' an AI accelerator co-developed with Broadcom. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, reported that this chip has 1.5 to 1.9 times higher throughput per watt compared to NVIDIA's Blackwell. He also stated that its responsiveness is 4 times higher and recorded similar performance to another competing chip, Vera Rubin, increasing the likelihood of success for its self-developed chip.

OpenAI plans to deploy 'Habanero' chips in its own data centers on a limited basis starting later this year and gradually expand production from 2027. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, emphasized that connectivity through clustering, rather than chip unit performance, will be the key competitive advantage. This is considered a significant move that could change the landscape of the AI chip market.

There were reports suggesting that Samsung Electronics' HBM4 is likely integrated into OpenAI's own chips. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, commented that if this is true, it would be positive news for Korean investors. This could increase Samsung Electronics' negotiation power as a memory supplier and further strengthen its position in the AI semiconductor market.

The Financial Times reported that YMTC has set a goal to become the world's number one NAND flash memory market leader by the end of 2027. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, explained that this goal should be interpreted as a marketing statement to boost the company's value upon listing. This suggests that setting overly ambitious goals can confuse investors.

The government's plan to introduce regional differentiated electricity pricing has been materialized. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, explained that industrial electricity rates in the southern region will be up to 10% lower than current rates. This is considered a reasonable reform aimed at promoting balanced regional development and revitalizing corporate investment.

The government announced a plan to increase renewable energy installed capacity from the current 32GW to 220GW by 2040. Among this, solar power is set to expand significantly from 30GW to 155GW, and wind power from 2GW to 51GW. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, emphasized that consistent and reliable policies capable of attracting corporate investment are crucial for achieving these goals.

Concerns about power supply shortages are rising due to surging electricity demand from semiconductor clusters and AI data centers. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, pointed out that even if the government's plans to expand renewable energy and nuclear power facilities are fully implemented, there is still a possibility of power shortages. This indicates an urgent need for practical measures to ensure a stable power supply.

The fundamental strength of Korean companies is solid, but stock prices are being suppressed by external factors such as high long-term bond yields and high leverage in the semiconductor industry. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, noted that the transformer industry is transforming into a position of leading its clients, analyzing that individual companies' fundamentals are sound.

The three domestic battery manufacturers are expected to secure over 1GW of domestic supply. Kwon Soon-woo, Head of the Coverage Team, explained that this signifies a complete expansion of the domestic battery market. The growth of the domestic battery industry is anticipated to accelerate.

The Zaigle F Grill Air Fryer is a two-in-one product that combines air fryer and grill functions. The host emphasized the benefit of being able to use the grill function when the air fryer alone isn't sufficient. It features a transparent glass window to directly monitor cooking status and is priced at 99,000 won.