Hyundai Motor Group officials and Indian university representatives pose for a commemorative photo after signing agreements to expand joint research cooperation on Friday. Front row (from left): Amarendra Kumar Das, vice chancellor of Tezpur University; Kim Chang-hwan, vice president and head of the electrification energy solutions tech unit at Hyundai Motor and Kia and co-chair of Hyundai CoE; Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha, advisor to Hyundai CoE; Ashwini K. Agrawal, dean of IIT Delhi; Tarun Garg, CEO of Hyundai Motor India; and Bijaya Ketan Panigrahi, dean of student affairs at IIT Delhi and co-chair of Hyundai CoE. (Hyundai Motor Group) Hyundai Motor and Kia have expanded partnerships with seven top universities in India to accelerate the development of core electric-vehicle technologies and strengthen future mobility capabilities.The carmakers, which are part of Hyundai Motor Group, said Monday that they signed agreements on Friday with four new partner institutions — including two campuses of Indian Institutes of Technology in Kanpur and Hyderabad and two campuses of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in Nagpur and Tezpur — to join joint research with the Hyundai Center of Excellence for future mobility technology, or Hyundai CoE.Hyundai CoE was established in April 2025 through a partnership between Hyundai Motor, Kia and three IIT campuses: Madras, Delhi and Bombay.Through this partnership, Hyundai Motor and Kia will conduct a total of 39 joint research projects with universities, covering fields such as battery and electrification technologies, advanced materials and artificial intelligence-based vehicle-to-grid platforms.The automakers said the initiative aimed to develop localized battery designs and electrification performance technologies suited to the Indian market, while also fostering engineering talent and bolstering future mobility research capabilities.As part of the initiative, Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to invite deans and professors from the seven universities to South Korea in June to discuss future cooperation opportunities and introduce the group’s mobility strategies, technologies and vision.“By bringing together the distinguished professors and emerging researchers from these seven institutes, we can create powerful synergies that will yield immense value for both Hyundai and India's sustainable growth,” said Kim Chang-hwan, head of the electrification energy solutions tech unit at Hyundai Motor and Kia. “I strongly believe that the Hyundai CoE will grow to become the premier expert network of the Indian academic community.”The move comes as Hyundai Motor and Kia continue to post strong growth in India. The automakers recorded their highest-ever first-quarter sales in the Indian market this year.