The cunningly-named HMGICS (Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre), which cost almost $400 million to build, just opened in Jurong. This new centre has a planned annual capacity of 30,000 vehicles and includes a vast test track and a helipad for flying cars on its sprawling roof. Hyundai will also develop autonomous driving technology, including robotaxis for US market, at the center – a fleet of Hyundai Ioniq 5 cars bristling with sensors and antennae was recently seen tucked away in the bowels of the facility.
We’re just over a year away from the beginning of the end of the fizz of a V6 or the rumble of a diesel engine. Internal combustion cars will start being phased out in Singapore in 2025. While this move to more sustainable transport is ambitious and needed, the opportunity it provides to the local automotive sector could be vast.
Singapore’s history as a carmaker is brief – spanning just a few decades and dying quietly in 1980 when the Ford Factory shuttered its art deco doors. Since then, several attempts at restarting the island’s automotive industry have surfaced, including the locally developed Dendrobium electric supercar, and plans for a locally-built Dyson electric vehicle (EV), which, sadly, were scrapped. However, Singapore recently dipped its toe into automotive waters once more, signalling what could be a u-turn in The Little Red Dot’s ambitions.
