Hyundai Motor Group

U.S. auto sales in Q2 showed mixed results with General Motors reporting a 4% decline while Stellantis, Toyota, and Hyundai saw growth. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans urged President Donald Trump to let a Jones Act waiver expire, arguing it harms U.S. shipping and national security. LSU New Orleans held a ceremony to mark its return to the LSU System after 15 years under the University of Louisiana System.

Hyundai Motor Group, a FIFA commercial partner, is promoting its robotics division through World Cup-related exhibits and deployments, including robot dogs and the Atlas humanoid robot. The company acquired Boston Dynamics in 2020 and plans to expand robot use in factories and U.S. operations by 2028, though labor unions in South Korea have opposed automation plans, authorizing strikes over fears of job displacement.

Hyundai workers in South Korea are voting to strike due to concerns that robots may replace them. The union at the country’s largest carmaker demands greater influence over the introduction of AI and automation.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy over 25,000 Boston Dynamics Atlas robots in U.S. manufacturing facilities starting in 2028, with Kia's Georgia plant following in 2029. The robots, designed to perform physically demanding tasks and adapt to dynamic factory conditions, aim to address labor shortages and enhance production flexibility.

Boston Dynamics' Spot robot now reads analog thermometers and pressure gauges using Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics-ER 1.6 AI model. This advancement enables complex visual inspections in industrial settings through enhanced 'embodied reasoning' capabilities.