Hyundai Motor Group forms advanced air mobility company Supernal

Hyundai Motor Group has formed a new company called Supernal, LLC, an evolution of its Urban Air Mobility Division that will be the binding component of Hyundai’s future mobility vision. The company is developing a family of electric air vehicles and convening public and private stakeholders to responsibly shape the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry. It plans to launch its first commercial flight in 2028 and scale operations, leveraging the Hyundai’s manufacturing expertise, as the AAM market and public acceptance begin to grow in the 2030s.

Supernal is one of more than 50 pioneering companies in Hyundai’s network collaborating to make mobility a service, not just a product. The company says it is working to integrate AAM into existing transit networks and to shape a seamless intermodal passenger experience. The vision is for passengers to use a single app – like current rideshare platforms – to plan their journey, which could include taking a car or rail from home to an AAM “vertiport,” a passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle across town, and an e-scooter for the last mile.

Supernal, launched as the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group at CES 2020, where it introduced its initial concept vehicle, the S-A1. Supernal continues to develop and enhance the eVTOL vehicle it will bring to market first and plans to begin certification with U.S. regulatory agencies in 2024. Supernal’s first air vehicle will be electric-powered and autonomous-capable and is planned to accommodate four to five passengers on initial urban and urban-adjacent routes.

Supernal says it is leveraging advanced technologies, systems, and airframe materials – including artificial intelligence, autonomous control, and electric powertrain – to develop its vehicles and will harness Hyundai’s mass production capabilities to scale production, affordably. Supernal is also establishing a bench of academic partners to expand the AAM industry’s research frontier and talent pipeline.

With this aim, Supernal is forging partnerships at the local and state level across the United States. Last year, the company launched a partnership with the City of Los Angeles and Urban Movement Labs to develop a public engagement roadmap and policy toolkit other cities and municipalities can use to inform their AAM efforts and timelines. Supernal also serves as an industry resource for policymakers interested in understanding how AAM can address their communities’ transportation needs, the company says.

BorgWarner has agreed to acquire the electric vehicle solution, smart grid and smart energy businesses of Hubei Surpass Sun Electric (SSE). The transaction has an enterprise value of up to RMB 410 million (approx. $59.36 million).

Headquartered in Xiangyang, Hubei province, China, SSE’s electrification business supplies patented electric vehicle charging solutions to customers in China and more than 70 other countries. SSE says it has delivered over 50,000 charging points and has led the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of more than 250 charging station sites. SSE’s charging and electrification capabilities in China are expected to complement BorgWarner’s existing capabilities in Europe and North America, the companies say. SSE’s 2022 revenues for the electrification business are expected to be approximately RMB 180 million (approx. $26.06 million).