The Pulse
Hyundai and Kia to Show Factory AI Agents at E-FOREST Tech Day
Hyundai Motor and Kia will present factory-focused AI agents and about 200 manufacturing technologies at E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026 in Uiwang, South Korea. The three-day event will showcase digital twins, automation systems and the companies’ p
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
“This event is a meaningful opportunity to show the industry and our partners the excellence and practicality of the innovative manufacturing technologies Hyundai Motor Group has developed. We will keep working to expand the use of these new technologies in our production plants and put them into practice on the factory floor.”
Hyun Chul Cho, vice president and head of E-FOREST Strategy Group, Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai and Kia put software-defined factories on the agenda
Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to present factory-focused AI agents alongside about 200 manufacturing technologies at E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026, which runs October 19–21 at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Uiwang Research Institute in South Korea. The companies announced the showcase on October 18, describing it as a platform for sharing smart-factory technology and their plans for software-defined factories, or SDFs. The event is in its seventh year.
The AI agents are designed for specific factory tasks: retrieving and interpreting data, searching manufacturing know-how, and creating equipment manuals. Hyundai and Kia did not identify the agents by name or provide performance figures in the announcement. They framed the systems as part of a broader effort to develop technology around the needs of manufacturing sites.
Shared data systems underpin the SDF plan
Hyundai and Kia say they are building a unified framework for collecting and managing data, together with a common development environment. The stated aim is to make it easier to develop and roll out factory solutions, rather than treating each production site as a separate technology project. The companies also plan to present standardized SDF technologies intended for use at plants in South Korea and overseas.
Digital twins form another part of the showcase. The company describes them as virtual simulations based on actual factory equipment, used to address problems before they occur on the physical production floor. The announcement does not specify which facilities use these simulations today or quantify their effects on production time, costs or defects.
Inspection systems join the AI demonstrations
The event will include assembly and inspection automation, among them a tunnel-style exterior inspection system that examines vehicles using 3D simulation. Hyundai and Kia say they developed the system in place of third-party systems to improve finished-vehicle quality, and plan to apply it at plants in South Korea and overseas. The announcement offers no deployment schedule or measured inspection results.
Other exhibits will cover smart energy solutions for factory operations and future-mobility manufacturing. Hyundai and Kia say those technologies include new forming methods and additive manufacturing that produces shapes from design data without molds. The lineup puts the AI agents beside physical production tools, rather than presenting them as a standalone software release.
About 200 technologies, but no agent rollout timetable
Alongside the exhibition, Hyundai and Kia plan a manufacturing technology conference and seminars with partners. Planned discussion topics include physical AI, data-driven manufacturing innovation and manufacturing AI, with the conference focused on technology cases intended to improve global production plants. The announcement does not name partners or disclose how many of the roughly 200 technologies are already in factory use.
Hyun Chul Cho, vice president and head of Hyundai Motor Group’s E-FOREST Strategy Group, said the companies would work to expand the use of the technologies in production plants. For now, the release describes a showcase and an expansion goal, not a rollout date for the factory agents. Their stated functions remain practical and bounded: finding and interpreting operational information, locating manufacturing knowledge and producing equipment manuals.