Hyundai Motor Group will invest $15.5 billion in India between 2026 and 2032, expanding manufacturing capacity, research and development (R&D) infrastructure and localisation of components as it seeks to strengthen the country’s position as a global automotive hub.

The investment plan was discussed at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung at the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The seven-year investment will span manufacturing expansion, future technology development, local supplier partnerships and infrastructure development, the South Korean automotive major said in a statement.

The Group plans to expand production capacity across Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) and Kia India Pvt Ltd to cater to rising demand and improve localisation. India will also be positioned as one of the Group’s leading global export platforms.

To coordinate the investment programme, Hyundai Motor Group will establish a dedicated investment entity in India. It will oversee investments in R&D, future technologies and the wider automotive ecosystem, besides identifying local partners and strengthening supplier collaborations.

“India remains one of Hyundai Motor Group’s most important and strategic markets globally. The past 30 years have been defined by our commitment to India. This investment reaffirms our commitment to India for the next 30 years and beyond,” Mr. Chung said.

“Through this investment, we will create more employment opportunities and work together with our partners and stakeholders to support India’s continued industrial development,” he added.

The Group plans to strengthen its Indian R&D capabilities through infrastructure expansion and talent development. It has earmarked approximately $700 million for its R&D centre, including a vehicle testing track, to accelerate next-generation automotive technology development and establish India as a key innovation hub.

Hyundai will also explore opportunities in specialised automotive financing, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and end-of-life vehicle recycling.

Employing more than 24,000 people in India, the Group expects the investment to generate high-quality jobs across manufacturing, engineering, R&D and supply chains.

Its annual production capacity in India exceeds 1.4 million vehicles, comprising HMIL’s Chennai facility (824,000 units), its Pune plant (170,000 units) and Kia India’s Anantapur facility (431,000 units). Pune’s capacity will be scaled up in phases, further expanding the Group’s manufacturing footprint.

German optics and technology major ZEISS on Thursday launched its first innovation hub outside Germany at the IIT Madras Research Park, marking a move to deepen its engagement with India’s research and startup environment.

The Chennai centre will initially have a team of four to five people and focus on early-stage research in areas such as advanced frugal engineering, harsh-environment optics, robotics and fluid dynamics. The technologies developed through the hub could eventually be taken forward as products or solutions, although the company said it was too early to identify specific commercial applications.

ZEISS President and CEO Andreas Pecher said the centre would adopt a different approach from the company’s established operations in Bengaluru, which include medical technology, software and hardware development, as well as manufacturing activities across several ZEISS businesses.

“We want to think about topics that are relevant in 10 years,” Pecher said, outlining the long-term research focus of the Chennai hub.

Unlike a conventional R&D centre driven by a predefined list of priorities from Germany, the new facility will work closely with the IIT Madras facilities to identify technologies that could become relevant to ZEISS’s businesses over the longer term.

The hub will collaborate with IIT Madras departments, including engineering design and computer vision, along with the institute’s incubation cell, startups and its health-tech incubation ecosystem.

Pecher said the research would focus on both technologies relevant to India and innovations that could eventually be developed in India for global markets. The size of the team is expected to increase as projects and research areas take shape.

ZEISS invests around 15% of its revenue in research and development annually, according to Pecher. The company operates across four major business areas: medical technology, consumer markets, industrial quality and research, and semiconductor manufacturing technology.

The company has not disclosed the investment planned for the Chennai hub. Pecher said both investment and headcount would be scaled up based on the projects undertaken by the centre.

The launch comes as India is seeking to build out its semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. ZEISS supplies equipment used by semiconductor manufacturers, but Pecher said the company currently has no plans to expand its semiconductor equipment R&D operations in India.

Most of ZEISS’s semiconductor equipment R&D and production remains based in Germany, with additional activities in Switzerland and Israel.

The company also declined to provide a fresh fixed target for expanding its India workforce to 5,000, following an earlier announcement on the proposed expansion.

Miguel Gonzalez Diaz, Managing Director of ZEISS India, said there was “not a set number” for future hiring. Expansion, he said, would depend on the requirements of the company’s businesses, including manufacturing.