While admitting that Hyundai Motor has made a relatively late entry into future mobility, the de facto leader of the world’s fifth-largest carmaker said Tuesday that he hopes to turn the company into a provider of related services that connect people’s physical distance.

“It is clear that we are going to continue manufacturing cars. I believe that in the future, cars will take account for 50 percent share (by modes of transport), private air vehicle 30 percent and robotics 20 percent. We will transform into a company that mainly provides services under such dynamics,” said Chung Euisun, executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, at a town hall meeting with employees held at the firm’s headquarters in Yangjae, southern Seoul.

The global car market is experiencing oversupply of vehicles, around 25 million a year, with carmakers marking their presence in the market even after mergers and acquisitions. But the future will be different, Chung said.

“There will be many companies that will disappear from the auto industry in the future. And it is important for us to enhance our competitiveness to survive,” he said. “It is not going to work just by manufacturing quality cars, but also by providing leading solutions such as (smart mobility) services for customers.”

Chung was speaking to 1,200 employees at the meeting, a quarterly event held in Seoul for promoting open communication with the upper management.

The executive vice chairman, who is Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo’s only son, is slated to succeed his father.

Hyundai might pursue more radical changes in its operations, he said.

“There have been times when we have been latecomers or have remained unchanged. For the past five to 10 years, however, I believe that we have been on a plateau. We could have been a little behind when the world trend was fast changing. And that is why I believe that we must be bolder and focus on changes to maximize our capacity,” he said.

“The fate of our future business will depend on how fast we come up with different ideas. We need to utilize all necessary resources to create an organization that is (full of) creative ideas and has the ability to realize them.”

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)