Hyundai Motor Group appointed Euisun Chung as group chairman on Wednesday, cementing his succession from his octogenarian father in a move likely to give impetus to the world’s fifth-largest auto maker’s push into electric vehicles and flying cars.
In the first generational handover at the South Korean automobile giant in 20 years, Chung, 49, said he hoped to lead change at South Korea’s second-biggest conglomerate as it battles to stay ahead of the pack in a time of rapid technological innovation in the global auto industry.
“Carrying on their bold and innovative legacies, I feel privileged, yet also a sense of great responsibility for opening a new chapter of Hyundai Motor Group,” Chung said in a speech to employees.
Chung identified autonomous driving, electrification, hydrogen fuel cell, robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) — industry jargon for flying cars — as his initiatives for the future.