By Kwanwoo Jun


Hyundai Motor shares surged to a new record, boosting its market capitalization as expectations grew that the South Korean car giant would get a sizable valuation uplift from its U.S. robotics unit.

The stock jumped 15% to close at 549,000 won in Seoul, far outperforming the benchmark Kospi index, which rose 0.5%.

Wednesday's advance took Hyundai's year-to-date gain to 85%, pushing its market capitalization past 100 trillion won, equivalent to $67.53 billion, for the first time. The rally also cemented the carmaker's recently upgraded status as the third-largest Korean stock by market value, behind chip makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Investors' optimism has been fueled by Hyundai's push into physical artificial intelligence, particularly its robotics business centered on Boston Dynamics, the U.S.-based developer of the Atlas humanoid robot.

Hyundai has said it plans to deploy humanoid robots at manufacturing plants starting in 2028 and aims to produce 30,000 Atlas units a year globally.

Earlier this week, Nomura analysts Angela Hong and Won Kang said that Atlas could structurally lower operating costs and support higher valuations for Hyundai, as its affiliated carmakers shift from a labor-intensive model to a capital-intensive, software-defined one.

Boston Dynamics is expected to emerge as a major global robotics player, the analysts said, estimating that Hyundai's planned deployment of 30,000 robots across its affiliates could generate about $4 billion in additional revenue for the robot developer in 2028.

Hyundai Motor owns 27.1% of Boston Dynamics through its investment in HMG Global, which controls the Atlas maker, according to NH Investment & Securities analyst Ha Neul.

Boston Dynamics is projected to be valued at 53.3 trillion won, or about $36 billion, in 2027, potentially adding 14.4 trillion won to Hyundai's valuation, Ha said in a note.

Separately, KB Securities analyst Kang Seong-jin said he expects Boston Dynamics to be valued at around 128 trillion won by 2035, which would translate to an estimated 35 trillion won valuation boost for Hyundai by then.

"Boston Dynamics is expected to be a decisive turning point in Hyundai Motor Co.'s productivity innovation," Kang said. He raised his target price for Hyundai sharply to 800,000 won from 310,000 won.


Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-21-26 0331ET