# Hyundai, Yaskawa Hint at Mechatronics Collaboration in Automotive Logistics

September 11, 2025 (Seoul) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Japan’s Yaskawa Electric Corp. signaled potential collaboration on mechatronics — the integration of mechanics and electronics — to automate logistics processes within automotive manufacturing. The discussion took place at the 40th Korea‑Japan Business Forum during the 26th World Knowledge Forum in Seoul, where executives from both companies highlighted opportunities to address the complexity of handling tens of thousands of irregularly shaped parts on production lines.

“We could provide Hyundai with systems capable of autonomously selecting irregularly shaped objects,” said Seigo Yamada, head of Yaskawa Electric Korea, describing how robotics could tackle currently manual logistics tasks.

Hyundai acknowledged that while welding and assembly automation are mature, logistics — especially picking and handling irregular parts — remains a gap where mechatronics solutions could add value. Both companies noted that leveraging Korea’s strengths in semiconductors, batteries and ICT alongside Japan’s expertise in robotics, materials and sensors could accelerate development and global expansion of such solutions.

Key Highlights

• Forum setting: Announcement and discussions occurred at the Korea‑Japan Business Forum during the 26th World Knowledge Forum in Seoul.

• Focus area: Collaboration would target automation of automotive logistics—particularly autonomous selection and handling of irregularly shaped components.

• Complementary strengths: Hyundai emphasized Korea’s ICT and battery expertise; Yaskawa noted Japan’s long experience in robotics and sensors.

• Human role: Both sides stressed that humans will continue to be essential for operating systems and analyzing data even as automation advances.

What this could mean

A practical Hyundai–Yaskawa partnership in mechatronics could speed deployment of pick‑and‑place and logistics robots tailored for automotive factories — reducing manual handling, improving throughput, and simplifying supply‑chain logistics. High parts commonality, robust sensing, and smarter end‑of‑arm tooling would be key technology areas to watch if collaboration advances.