As diverse as life.
At the heart of our work at HMETC are, of course, engineering achievements in research. So we don’t just take care of efficient drives, easy-to-use charging solutions or optimal aerodynamics – we also develop innovative surfaces or comfortable chassis. And we test our ideas on real prototypes.
Sometimes even on the Nürburgring. That’s how we ensure precisely the performance that our three strong brands stand for.
But beyond that, there are many other exciting fields of activity. Product Planning, Regulations, Project Operations, IT, Finance or Design – the spectrum of our tasks is as diverse as life itself.
Together we work on developing sustainable, people-focused mobility solutions. With the fast progress in network and technology HMETC (Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center) strives to create the best possible solutions for a better future. For future sustainable growth the organization relies on its current employees and future talents: people who are open-minded, realize
new possibilities and work together towards the dream of a better future.
Our areas of work.
Powertrain
Vehicle Development
Planning and Project Management
Powertrain
We focus on the electrification of powertrains which covers pioneering topics such as future battery concepts, next generation charging technologies and the development of advanced high voltage components – following one goal: to present the best range of electric vehicle solutions for our European customers now and in the future. We develop innovative E- technologies to improve our powertrains in terms of performance, efficiency and drivability. Whether mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric and fuel cell technology: We are working on all types of electrified powertrains.
Our activities range from vehicle calibration and the development of control units of powertrain systems to validating and testing our vehicles under different conditions including changing temperatures, altitudes, weights and towing to adapt them to the European market. This is complemented by vehicle benchmarks and performance evaluations.
In addition to our clear strategy towards electric drives, different options of powertrain systems will co-exist in the transitional period. Thus, we are striving to develop the next generation of hybrid powertrains by an intelligent combination of a dedicated internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric machine used in different locations in the powertrain architecture dependent on the use-case.
We are responsible for all tasks related to the sustainable development of the combustion engine complying with the future European emission standards. This includes the development of new technologies and methods, such as the enhancement of fuel injection systems and controls for the future use of fuels and the calibration of powertrain systems.
To understand the preferences of our customers in Europe, we are involved in technology scouting activities monitoring E-mobility technology trends which we translate into development measures for innovative yet sustainable electrification technologies.
Vehicle Development
We lead the work to optimize the major characteristics of our vehicles with which the customer interfaces with. Fundamentally this includes most items of our cars that the customer touches, feels, hears and senses. All aspects of the various car systems are engaged in this work, and we use all of the standard tools of the automotive industry, in collaboration with many other HMETC departments.
We have activities in body engineering, chassis development, brakes optimization, newly developed virtual development tools, and a variety of NVH tools and applications. We engage in aerodynamics, lighting technologies, smart customer interfaces, body structure optimization and sustainability initiatives. Our CAE activities and specialists drive for better prototypes for testing, by maximizing the vehicle subsystems such as kinematics and compliance. The NVH specialists focus on sound design and minimizing unwanted audible and tactile disturbances, while the brakes team ensure maximum braking performance and optimum vehicle stability.
In addition, we also have our “N” department that focuses solely on the Hyundai performance variants. This group targets what makes a performance car fun and exciting to drive, and takes everything up a notch. The group uses all of the vehicle subsystems listed above and maximizes the performance to deliver a true performance car experience to our customers.
Planning and Project Management
Our team respond to technological changes and future products by adapting the strategic direction of our vehicle brands Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, securing their product competitiveness on the European market.
Conducting market research to gather the voice of customer, their preferences and wishes and translate it into technical requirements is also a part of our work. In our technology scouting activities, we monitor automotive and non-automotive technology trends on the European market, benchmark competitors’ products and strategies and run creative workshops to foster innovation management.
We are also the voice towards the European Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for vehicle related regulation development. In this regard, the team members are in close cooperation with the R&D center in South Korea and other regions in the global R&D and headquarter network. In addition, the team communicates with consumer organizations (i.e. Euro NCAP) and insurances.
Our project management team continuously monitors the status for all our development activities. We support the communication between the development teams and take on the role of consultant to provide related project information.
Furthermore, we take care of all tasks related to the testing and evaluation of the entire vehicle and its components from the customer’s point of view in the European market. Here, any existing weak points are identified and countermeasures defined across all vehicle segments. The evaluation attributes are both static and dynamic and span from driving dynamics to comfort components and connectivity features.
We have a wide range of activities from seat evaluations and benchmarking activities to testing and developing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and conducting durability tests. Our Press Team takes care of the media pre-evaluation and analysis reports.
Electronic Systems
Commercial Vehicles
Design
Electronic Systems
Connected and autonomous vehicles combine modern connectivity and automated technologies to replace humans in the driving task and to create innovative mobility solutions for our customer. Our Electronics department is focusing on the next generation of connected car and advanced driver assistance systems responding to the specific European legislation requirements.
This involves the development and deployment of future connectivity platforms, innovative connected services and mobile connectivity solutions. Simple and distraction free interaction with the car is our focus and passion.
Our Advanced Driver Assistant Systems are designed to support and simplify the driving tasks while assuring the highest level of driving safety.
In European research projects we are working on the future of connected and automated vehicles combining conventional sensors and the latest communication technologies (eg. C2X).
Commercial Vehicles
Our Commercial Vehicles Department is an integral part of Hyundai Commercial Vehicles R&D. We are responsible for the European customer needs with an active role in the development of trucks and buses for the European market. Our tasks involve life cycle management, on site testing, product planning, concept development, conducting market and customer surveys and investigation of the European Commercial Vehicle market.
In addition, we coordinate European suppliers and take part in European funded projects. We always ensure the right solutions through intensive observation of the European market. In this area, we accompany the shift towards environmentally friendly electric drive systems.
We want to develop the best ecofriendly commercial vehicles for Europe: fuel cell trucks, fuel cell buses, as well as battery electric commercial vehicles.
Design
Our unique and innovative designs are developed by our Design Department and dedicated for both concept cars, as well as production cars which are presented in all global markets. The international team of exterior, interior, color & trim and strategy designers, as well as design engineers and clay modelers, operate in a close collaboration with the Hyundai Global Design Team.
Our designers translate their ideas into 2D or 3D sketches and later into digital models for which virtual reality presentations are used. Clay modelers carve full sized models for the physical model creation. In color material and finish (CMF), market research is done which results in developing color and material designs used to apply on design models.
We are expanding into new areas of creating new user experience designs within the future mobility era.
Corporate Functions.
Our corporate functions ensure that the internal organization functions flawlessly supporting our research and development departments.
Together we work on the success and continuous growth of HMETC covering the areas of Human Resources, Legal, General Affairs, IT, Finance and Global Sourcing.
In all these areas we are always looking for new open-minded colleagues; people who are ready for new things and for change because we ourselves are also constantly reinventing ourselves.
