Trump Administration to Launch Voluntary AI Standards for Frontier Models 
South Korea Alleges Google Abused Android App Store Dominance, Eyes Major Fine 
US Dollar Rises as Fed Rate Outlook Stays Hawkish, Euro Slips and Yen Near 40-Year Low 
Sodexo Raises 2026 Revenue Outlook After Strong Q3 Sales Beat 
Asian Stocks Slide as Chip Shares Tumble Ahead of Key U.S. Jobs Report 
TSMC CoWoS Capacity Forecast Raised as Mizuho Sees AI Server CPU Demand Surging Through 2027 
Greece’s Bad Loan Crisis Continues to Limit Credit Access Despite Economic Recovery 
Morgan Stanley Names BAE Systems Top European Defence Stock Despite Lower Price Target 
Central Banks Eye Gold, Reduce Dollar Exposure as AI Adoption Accelerates: OMFIF Survey 
RBA Minutes Signal Australia Central Bank Remains Ready to Raise Interest Rates if Inflation Persists 
Samsung to Invest $90 Billion in South Korea to Expand AI Chip, Display, and Battery Production 
Super Micro Employees Detained in Taiwan AI Server Export Investigation 
ShareChat Eyes 2027 IPO After Reaching Operational Profitability, Report Says 
Japan Signals Surprise Yen Intervention Strategy as BOJ Hawkish Stance Puts FX Traders on Alert 
Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism 
Asian Currencies Stay Under Pressure as Dollar Holds Near 13-Month High Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report 
Hyundai Motor Group will stop making internal combustion engines to hasten its transformation into an electric vehicle maker. The company said that electrification is unavoidable, so it will now work in that direction and ditch the fuel-powered vehicles.
According to The Korea Economic Daily, Hyundai Motor has closed down its engine development department which is stationed at the company’s research and development (R&D) headquarters and business insiders revealed this information late last week.
“Now, it is inevitable to convert into electrification,” KED Global quoted Park Chung Kook, the newly-appointed R&D chief as saying in an email that was sent to employees. “Our own engine development is a great achievement but we must change the system to create future innovation based on the great asset from the past.”
The move to shutter the said division came as the automobile industry around the world is shifting to electric vehicles and it is happening faster than expected. EVs do not require a powertrain as they run on an electric motor thus the engine development unit is not needed any longer.
Hyundai Motor’s engine development was first established in 1983 and the company is scrapping it this month after almost 40 years. With the closure, the efforts will not be redirected to improve the automaker’s EV development division.
In the past, the EV development was under the powertrain units and now all the teams in the powertrain have been converted to electrification divisions. A battery development center was also established under the electrification to further strengthen advanced battery technology.
Hyundai Motor also formed a battery design team, a battery performance development team, and more for its EV development center. The carmaker along with its subsidiary, Kia Motors, is aiming to sell 1.7 million electric vehicles worldwide in 2026.
With the sudden shutdown, Business Korea reported that Hyundai Motor Group has officially terminated the engine development by announcing rules stating not to release any new models of internal combustion engines. This will also formally mark the transformation of its Powertrain team into the Electrification Development Team which will focus on R&D for electric vehicles.
