Hyundai Motor and Kia are showcasing around 200 manufacturing technologies at E-Forest Tech Day 2026 2026, highlighting their push towards software-defined factories (SDFs) powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.
The three-day exhibition, running from Oct 19 to 21 at the carmakers’ Uiwang Research Institute in South Korea, focuses on technologies designed to improve production efficiency, quality and flexibility.
Central to the initiative is a unified system for collecting and managing factory data, allowing software solutions to be developed and deployed across manufacturing plants.
Hyundai and Kia aim to standardise these technologies for use at production facilities in South Korea and overseas.
Among the highlights are digital twins, which create virtual representations of factory equipment to simulate operations and identify potential problems before they occur.
The companies are also introducing AI agents capable of retrieving and interpreting manufacturing data, searching technical knowledge databases and generating equipment manuals.
Another development is an automated tunnel-type vehicle inspection system that uses 3D simulation to examine exterior surfaces.
Developed in-house to replace third-party systems, the technology is intended to improve quality control and will be introduced at domestic and overseas plants.
Other exhibits include automated assembly systems, energy management solutions and additive manufacturing technologies that produce components from digital designs without conventional moulds.
The technologies form part of E-Forest, Hyundai and Kia’s smart manufacturing programme integrating AI, robotics and connected production systems.
Hyundai Motor Group E-Forest Strategy Group head Hyun Chul Cho said the companies intended to expand the application of these technologies across their production operations.
Now in its seventh year, the exhibition also brings together suppliers and technology partners for discussions covering physical AI, data-driven manufacturing and future factory automation.
