Langka Meeting, Toyota Boss Will Meet Hyundai Boss Talks About Hydrogen Vehicle Development Partnership

Toyota Mirai hydrogen. (Doc. Global Toyota)

JAKARTA - The grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota who is currently the Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Akio Toyoda, is rumored to be flying to Seoul, South Korea to meet Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) Chairman Chung Euisun.

KED Global reported on Thursday, September 5, Toyoda's visit to the country of ginseng aims to discuss business cooperation with HMG, including the development of hydrogen vehicles in the future.

According to a number of sources, Toyota Korea is trying to schedule in detail the journey of the grandson of Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, to the South Korean capital.

The source said Toyoda will arrive in Seoul on October 24 for a three-day trip and will hold a closed meeting with the leader of the Hyundai group which is likely to be scheduled for October 25.

Chairman Chung expressed his desire to meet with the chairman of Toyoda earlier this year, and Toyoda accepted him, "said an unnamed diplomatic source.

The two leaders of the giant company are expected to discuss ways to strengthen their cooperation in the development of hydrogen vehicles and joint build-up of this ecosystem.

According to the source, the two leaders will likely state a shift in business strategy from competition to collaboration.

Both Toyota and Hyundai are companies that are competing closely to get a larger share in the future mobility sector, including electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cells (FCEVs).

HMG is one of the active automotive companies in the development of hydrogen vehicles and ecosystems with an investment plan of 11.1 trillion won for this technology car by 2030.

If this conversation is in line with what is expected, Hyundai will become another producer in collaboration with Toyota in the development of hydrogen vehicles after BMW, which extended its partnership recently.

The leaders of Toyota and Hyundai are also expected to discuss other future mobility projects such as autonomous vehicles and advanced air mobility (AAM).