When Hyundai acquired robotics giant Boston Dynamics in 2021, very few observers thought the use of mechanical dogs to inspect welds in auto plants would be the endgame. Today, at CES 2026, Hyundai provided a detailed look at what it really wants to do with robots: Make them more humanThen he put them to work building cars.
Hyundai officials said the goal is simple: better safety, better quality, more durability and reliability, and lower production costs.
But it doesn’t take a robotics expert to know that automating car production at this level could change the nature of human work, or even put human workers out of their jobs. However, Hyundai officials who spoke to reporters at CES were frank about what could happen to workers if this plan succeeds: Things will change, but not right away.
Hyundai CES 2026 press conference
Photography: Steve Ficht/Journalists’ House
“We understand the concerns regarding job security when deploying automated solutions,” said Jihoon Chang, Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group. “But as we’ve shown with our aspirations for human-centric (robots), we have to do the right thing for people in terms of collaboration. That means we probably need more jobs.”
This will include people to “direct, supervise and maintain these robots,” Zhang said. “We also need to play roles that can build the ecosystem.”
Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, and will depend on whether the company actually succeeds in achieving a goal that sounds like science fiction. But as many other automakers resort to “Physical artificial intelligence“In order to boost productivity and reduce costs, the role of labor in a $3 trillion global industry will certainly be turned upside down.
Hyundai’s announcement is bold: to build a “scalable production system capable of manufacturing” 30,000 robots a year starting in 2028. In the same year, the automaker aims to have Boston Dynamics’ Atlas humanoid robot working in its factory. Georgia Metaplantwhich is currently building Ionic 5 and Ionic 9.
It will start with small tasks, but by 2030, the plan calls for Atlas robots assembling components, taking on work that humans might find tedious, repetitive and even dangerous, Hyundai officials said.
Hyundai Boston Dynamics offer
Photography: Steve Ficht/Journalists’ House
While the Atlas robot danced and posed on stage at CES, and even rotated its hands, legs and body in ways humans can’t, Hyundai officials openly admitted that the model was operated remotely by someone behind the scenes. But they said this is just a prototype; The blue robot standing next to him, motionless, is the real deal, and one that Hyundai hopes to deploy in factories within just two years.
This news is sure to make some of Hyundai’s 250,000 global employees a little nervous. Ultimately, this implies that fewer of them will be needed in production lines. But Hyundai insists that more advanced automation can “(ensure) safer working environments for plant employees,” and allow humans to collaborate with these machines while doing more complex, higher-paying work.
Furthermore, Hyung-Soo Kim, executive vice president who oversees global strategy, added that the use of robotic labor is tied to the company’s next-generation factory preparation — not current business plans.
If Hyundai and Boston Dynamics succeed in automating more of their factories with humanoid robots, Zhang said the benefit to consumers will be better quality and consistency, because human error is removed from more processes. But at a time when more and more buyers are demanding affordability, Hyundai customers shouldn’t expect robots to unlock cheaper new car prices.
“Of course, there will be an impact on our customers due to automation, but the degree of impact will not be very large,” Juncheol Young, the automaker’s head of manufacturing, said through a translator. Young added that labor at Hyundai represents about 5% to 10% of vehicle manufacturing costs.
Hyundai isn’t the only automaker looking to make humanoid robots. It was Tesla Developing the Optimus robot for several years She also said she hopes to be employed in car factories, all while making claims about how the robot could do it It will recoup most of its value one day. And many Chinese automakers, including ExpingAnd they intensified their efforts to do the same.
Hyundai CES 2026 press conference
Photography: Patrick George
While CES is no stranger to utopian dreams, Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics, said his company has a “commercial maturity” and path to monetization that other robotics companies don’t have. “It’s been shocking to us in the last three to five years how quickly the number of robotics companies has exploded,” Playter said. “Someone could put together a machine, use some relatively open source AI, and make it move.”
Under Hyundai ownership, Blatter said the goal is to bypass automakers and offer Atlas through a subscription “robots-as-a-service” approach. Boston Dynamics aims to sell “a few hundred” of its Spot robotic dogs and generate revenue of about $100 million this year, he said. But he has a lot on his mind for the future: A humanoid robot from Boston Dynamics could be used in elderly care, for example, where spending has declined. It increased dramatically In recent years.
These opportunities, combined with Hyundai’s manufacturing scale and capital, give the company an advantage that others don’t have, Playter said. “They’re all still doing, mostly, demos,” he said. “That’s not our approach.”
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
