Hyundai’s Jang Jae-hoon Deepens Hydrogen Push in China With Guangzhou Partnership

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its hydrogen strategy in China, with Vice Chairman Jang Jae-hoon spearheading a partnership with Guangzhou aimed at building a broader ecosystem beyond vehicles.

Jang, who oversees the group’s hydrogen business, met with Guangzhou Mayor Sun Zhiyang to discuss cooperation on sustainable hydrogen models, aligning Hyundai’s ambitions with China’s expanding policy support for the sector.

At the center of the talks was Hyundai’s hydrogen brand, HTWO, which Jang positioned as a platform for advancing a hydrogen-based economy. He also pointed to Guangzhou’s industrial policies as a key enabler of the company’s expansion. Sun, for his part, highlighted China’s latest five-year plan, which identifies hydrogen as a strategic growth driver, and pledged continued support.

The meeting follows Hyundai’s recent establishment of a headquarters-level unit, RH PMO (Project Management Office), to oversee hydrogen and robotics initiatives. The unit, reporting directly to top management, is designed to speed up decision-making as global energy policies shift.

Hyundai’s cooperation with Guangzhou is already yielding results. Its HTWO Guangzhou facility—the company’s first overseas hydrogen fuel-cell system production base—recently secured an order for 224 hydrogen buses through a municipal procurement, one of the largest such deals in China.

Deployment is expected to exceed 1,000 units by year-end, with the partnership set to expand beyond transportation into power generation and industrial applications.

Guangzhou is also emerging as a strategic hub for Hyundai’s so-called “physical AI” ecosystem, which integrates hydrogen energy with robotics and AI-driven infrastructure. The company is developing an energy-mobility platform that uses hydrogen as a stable power source for data centers and automated logistics and manufacturing systems.

By combining Guangzhou’s industrial base with Hyundai’s hydrogen technology, the group aims to build a scalable model for hydrogen-powered smart cities.

Hyundai plans to link Guangzhou with key domestic hubs such as Ulsan and Saemangeum to establish a global value chain. The company has committed to investing about $38 billion in future businesses through 2030, aiming to improve efficiency and secure a leading position in the hydrogen market through real-world deployment data.

Separately, Hyundai outlined its broader shift toward becoming an AI-driven technology company at its annual shareholder meeting. Chief Executive Jose Munoz said partnerships with Nvidia and Waymo would accelerate autonomous driving and software-defined vehicle capabilities. The company is targeting annual robot production of 30,000 units by 2028 as part of its transition toward intelligent systems.