A car factory is usually a special place to visit. Special not only because it is an interesting experience, but more so because you normally can’t just drop by and visit to see the operations. That being said, the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS) is a different animal when it comes to manufacturing facilities.
First of all, it is the first manufacturing facility that has chosen to produce cars in the island nation of Singapore. That in itself is a feat given the size of the market, the 89,000sqm facility, and the price of land in Singapore.
HMGICS is a research and development facility to study improvements and automations that can be applied to other Hyundai factories around the world. It’s the first of its kind in the Hyundai group, and while it is capable of producing vehicles, its main focus really is to develop processes and showcase its technology to visitors.
And showcase they do, with around 30,000 people visiting in 2025, and even more scheduled to drop by in 2026. What exactly can you expect from your time at HMGICS, and is it worth the trip? Read on to find out.
1) Some cool Hyundais on display
HMGICS produces the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, Ioniq 5 Robotaxi, and the Kia EV5. While these cars are displayed prominently in the lobby, there are some cool cars hidden among them. The highlight for us was the white Ioniq 5 with the Papal flag. This specific Popemobile was used by the late Pope Francis when he visited Singapore.
The Ioniq 5 was chosen for a few reasons. First of all, the Pope was of advanced age then, so he needed a car that was lower than an SUV, but not as low as a sedan to help with ingress and egress. The Ioniq 5 fit the bill with its slightly higher ride height. Secondly, the Pope had an eco advocacy, so an EV was the perfect choice rather than a gas-guzzling SUV. Lastly, the Pope wanted to choose a car with ties to Singapore. The Ioniq 5, being the first car built in Singapore in decades, was perfect.
Aside from the Popemobile, there was also a HMGICS built Robotaxi, currently being exported and being tested in Las Vegas, USA, and a very historical, fully restored Hyundai Pony. The Pony was the first Hyundai ever built, but you can clearly see certain bits of design that carried over to the current EVs. This is cool since you can see where Hyundai came from and where it is going.
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2) Vertical farming (and eating)
Front and center, just behind the car display, you will see a two-storey vertical farm. This vertical farm is actually there for two reasons: First, it is a test bed for the massive robots that Hyundai has in its factory, as the robots are dexterous enough to plant and coat individual seeds and seedlings. It is quite fun to watch the humongous arm delicately pluck a single plant with the grace of a surgeon. This demonstrates the advanced robotics available in HMGICS.
Secondly, Hyundai wants to showcase vertical hydroponic farming because it is aware of the limited land in the city-state of Singapore. It is a proof of concept for farming vertically using the least amount of land possible. As you observe, you are also given a chance to pick out some of the plants yourself, and actually eat them and take some home.
We took home some mustard leaves, which had a wasabi-style flavor profile, but we were also fed a tasting menu of a few different plants grown in HMGICS. Our favorite was the ice plant; it had the taste of a potato chip (yes, really) with a slight salty taste that furthered the illusion.
3) Virtual Reality experience of the plant
From there, we were led to a large room (where we could not take photos due to confidentiality) where we donned virtual reality goggles and were given an interactive tour of the HMGICS assembly facility. I say assembly facility and not ‘assembly line,’ as HMGICS runs on what they call a “cell production system,” wherein the car does not make its way around a fixed line. Rather, it goes to assembly cells where robots bring all the parts earmarked for a specific vehicle for assembly and evaluation.
This system allows for more flexibility in making multiple models in a smaller facility. That’s why HMGICS can manufacture everything from the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, Robotaxi, and even a Kia. It uses its 179 different individual robots to have a human-centric approach where the humans in the facility are supported as efficiently and as safely as they can be for an automated facility.
The learnings here will be applied to Hyundai Group facilities worldwide, which makes HMGICS a very relevant cog in the Hyundai ecosystem.
4) Skytrack
The highlight of the facility is the aptly named Skytrack. The Skytrack is a test track uniquely built on the roof of HMGICS. It serves as the shakedown track of newly built cars before they go to their owners. With a four-meter-high embankment, it is so much steeper than it looks in photos. It is basically a wall that the cars take at speed to test suspension components.
The HMGICS driver gave us three laps, two at 80kph, the standard speed, and one at 40kph. Traveling at 80kph felt great as the embankment meant that the g-forces pushed you straight down into your seat. But 40kph was actually scarier, as it was the true test of the suspension, keeping its composure even with the lateral force of gravity pulling the car down.
While on paper this seems like a chill drive, in person and at speed, you realize just how fast 80kph feels when you are on the rooftop of a building and charging toward a tight turn with strong banking. It was one of the coolest experiences we have had in a car, and we hope that if you do drop by HMGICS, you make sure you get a slot for the Skytrack drive.
5) Na Oh Restaurant
After the tour, we dropped by HMGICS’ in-house restaurant, Na Oh, a restaurant by Chef Corey Lee. If you have watched any episode of Culinary Class Wars, you may have heard his name being mentioned. He is the first Korean chef to receive three Michelin stars with Benu, his flagship restaurant in San Francisco. So the fact that he partnered with Hyundai to open a restaurant here is one of the best opportunities we have to have a Michelin-quality Korean tasting menu in Singapore.
There are no options for à la carte, just a seasonal themed set menu; seasonal being literal and figurative, as we had the winter themed menu. While we Filipinos are used to strong Korean flavors, Na Oh features a lot more subtlety in its flavors, highlighting the ingredients, some of which were farmed in HMGICS’ own facility.
The meal was headlined by a charcoal-grilled beef stew that was exquisite in terms of taste and texture, highlighting the best of Korean ingredients, and demonstrating why Corey Lee’s reputation precedes him. If you can possibly get a reservation here, it is a must-visit. It is probably the best Korean food we have tried, full stop.
So the question is whether HMGICS is worth the visit. We say, if the above reasons are any indication, yes, this is one of the coolest high-tech and car-related experiences you can have in Singapore. It really does showcase the best that the Korean brand has to offer in terms of innovation, technology, and sustainability.
More photos from the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore:
