Hyundai and Kia to Showcase Around 200 Smart Manufacturing Technologies at E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026
Hyundai Motor and Kia will open their seventh E-FOREST TECH DAY on October 19, displaying around 200 new manufacturing technologies and their plan to turn plants into software-defined factories.
- ~200
- 7th year
- October 19–21, 2026
What Happened
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation will host E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026, an exhibition sharing their smart factory manufacturing technologies and their vision for the transition to software-defined factories (SDFs). Now in its seventh year, the event is described as a leading platform for sharing smart factory technologies developed by Hyundai and Kia's Manufacturing Solution Division and their partner companies. It runs from October 19 to 21 at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Uiwang Research Institute in South Korea. E-FOREST is the smart factory brand of Hyundai Motor and Kia, applying automation technologies using artificial intelligence and robotics, along with human-friendly smart technologies, to upgrade the entire mobility industry.
- Around 200 new manufacturing technologies on display
- Foundational SDF technologies
- Automation
- Energy solutions
- Future mobility, including new forming technologies and additive manufacturing technologies that develop shapes from design data without molds
Hyundai and Kia are advancing SDF by building a unified data collection and management framework and a common development environment, laying the foundation for developing and rolling out solutions tailored to manufacturing sites. In the foundational SDF technologies area, they will present the progress of SDF technology development, including quality inspection systems. They will also present an SDF rollout plan that can be rapidly applied to their plants in Korea and overseas based on standardized technologies.
Exhibition highlights include digital twin technology, which runs simulations based on actual factory equipment in a virtual space to tackle problems before they occur in the real world. Hyundai and Kia will also introduce AI agents developed specifically for factory operations, covering data retrieval and interpretation, manufacturing know-how search and equipment manual creation.
In the automation area, the spotlight will be on assembly and inspection automation technologies that improve work efficiency and manufacturing quality. These include a tunnel-type exterior inspection vision technology that inspects a vehicle's exterior through 3D simulation; Hyundai and Kia developed it in place of third-party systems to improve finished-vehicle quality and plan to apply it to plants in Korea and overseas. The event also features a new manufacturing technology presentation conference highlighting new technology cases aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of global production plants, plus partner seminars covering physical AI, data-driven manufacturing innovation and manufacturing AI.
“This event is a meaningful opportunity to show the industry and our partners the excellence and practicality of the innovative manufacturing technologies Hyundai Motor Group has developed. We will keep working to expand the use of these new technologies in our production plants and put them into practice on the factory floor.”
Hyundai Motor and Kia announce E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026 and their software-defined factory vision from Uiwang, South Korea.
E-FOREST TECH DAY 2026 runs at the Hyundai Motor and Kia Uiwang Research Institute, with around 200 new manufacturing technologies on display.
Why this matters
The event is where Hyundai and Kia show the industry and their partners the manufacturing technology they intend to put into practice on factory floors in Korea and overseas, so plant workers, partner companies and suppliers are the first affected. The companies say sharing technology cases with partners aims to advance technological capabilities and strengthen competitiveness across the industry.
Terms in This Story
- Software-defined factory (SDF)
- A factory where production is coordinated and improved through unified software, shared data and a common development environment rather than isolated equipment systems.
- Digital twin
- A virtual replica of a physical object or system that can be used to run simulations and test changes before they are made in the real world.
- Additive manufacturing
- Building parts layer by layer from digital design data instead of forming them with molds.
- Physical AI
- Artificial intelligence applied to machines and robots that act in the physical world, rather than only to software tasks.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.