Hyundai Mobis posts 17% rise in Q3 operating profit, to produce Atlas actuator prototypes in November

Sales hit 15.7 trillion won; modules and core parts post second straight quarterly profit

Joint validation with customer ahead of 2028 supply

Robotics unit created, headcount doubled, product lineup expanded

A development model of the Atlas humanoid robot, unveiled at CES 2026 in Las Vegas earlier this year. [Boston Dynamics]

Hyundai Mobis reported third-quarter consolidated sales of 15.72 trillion won and operating profit of 914.1 billion won, the company disclosed Friday. The auto parts maker also said it plans to begin producing prototype actuators for Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot at its Uiwang research center in Gyeonggi Province next month, accelerating its push into the robotics business.

Third-quarter sales rose 4.6 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit climbed 17.2 percent. Cumulative sales through the first three quarters of this year reached 47.61 trillion won, with cumulative operating profit of 2.69 trillion won. Net profit for the period fell 35.7 percent to 598.4 billion won.

By business segment, the modules and core parts division posted a profit for the second consecutive quarter. The company said electrification sales grew as electric vehicle volumes increased, particularly in Europe, and the product mix improved. The after-sales parts segment maintained solid earnings, supported by higher global sales, a favorable exchange rate and reduced tariff burdens in some markets.

Hyundai Mobis President Lee Kyu-seok (right) introduces a PE system production line to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at a ceremony marking the launch of the company's new Novaky factory on Sept. 2 (local time). [Hyundai Mobis]

In a conference call following the earnings release Friday, Hyundai Mobis said it will begin producing prototype actuators for the Atlas robot at its Uiwang research center in Gyeonggi Province in November. Actuators are the drive units that move a robot's joints. The company plans to jointly verify performance and reliability with its customer ahead of the expected 2028 supply date, while continuing to improve performance through product standardization and modularization.

Industry observers expect Hyundai Mobis to supply all 31 actuators that go into a single Atlas unit. At Boston Dynamics' request, Hyundai Mobis has completed in-house development of key actuator components, including reducers, motors and controllers. A US factory targeting a 2028 launch is designed to produce 350,000 actuators a year, with the capacity to scale up to 700,000 through a two-shift operation without additional expansion.

Beyond the actuators already under contract, Hyundai Mobis is also working to secure technology in other key robot components such as hand grippers, perception modules and controllers. The strategy is to broaden its product lineup and diversify its customer base across multiple humanoid robot makers. "We plan to establish a dedicated organization for diversifying our robotics core-parts portfolio and expand the related headcount to roughly double the current level," the company said.

The hand gripper is being co-developed with Boston Dynamics, raising expectations that Hyundai Mobis could win a mass-production order for that component as well. Securities analysts expect the company to unveil actuators for external customers as early as January at CES 2027, and to expand its client base to include Tesla and Figure AI. Because actuators account for 40 to 60 percent of a humanoid robot's cost, Hyundai Mobis' position as a non-Chinese supplier capable of competing on price with Chinese rivals is seen as a key competitive advantage.

A concept image of the robot actuator Hyundai Mobis will supply to Boston Dynamics. [Hyundai Mobis]

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating training for the Atlas robot ahead of its planned deployment on factory floors. Boston Dynamics last month opened the Robotics Metaplant Application Center at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia and began full operations. Hyundai Motor Group plans to deploy 25,000 Atlas units sequentially across Hyundai Motor and Kia global plants within a few years, and to build a US production facility capable of manufacturing 30,000 robots annually.

Hyundai Mobis said it will continue to aggressively pursue global markets in the fourth quarter, leveraging its technological competitiveness. "Annual research and development investment is expected to exceed 2 trillion won for the first time by year-end," a company official said. "We expect to steadily grow our order wins in global markets by strengthening our technological competitiveness in core mobility businesses such as electrification and automotive electronics."

eyre@heraldcorp.com