The Hyundai Motor Group, with the brands Hyundai, Genesis and Kia, has officially opened its €150 million test facility at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center (HMETC) in Rüsselsheim. The new “Square Campus” is a milestone in the group’s commitment to European innovation and engineering excellence and the most significant investment in HMETC’s research and development facilities since the opening of the “Round Campus” in 2003. It is intended to foster the development of innovative, market-leading technologies and to play an important role in the design of future Hyundai, Genesis and Kia models in Europe, according to the company.
„The investment in the Square Campus is a clear sign of our commitment to the region and makes the importance of Europe for our long-term growth strategy evident,“ says Tyrone Johnson, Managing Director of
the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center. „The extensive new capacities of HMETC give us greater independence and flexibility and also offer exciting new opportunities for collaboration between our brands. The Square Campus will also help us continue to expand our market share in Europe by developing new vehicles and technologies tailored to the needs of our customers.“
Modern facility opens up new possibilities
The 25,000-square-meter facility features the group’s largest semi-anechoic chamber, which enables unrestricted testing of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) as well as pass-by noise, completely independent of weather conditions. The test benches at the Square Campus play a central role in development, according to the group. They enable comprehensive tests of vehicles as well as individual components and are suitable for fully electric, hybrid and internal-combustion powertrains.
Among the other
facilities are a charging laboratory for electric vehicles, a state-of-the-art driving simulator and new facilities for extended electronics-system development including over-the-air updates (OTA), cybersecurity and modern driver assistance systems (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, ADAS). HMETC regards these resources as being at the top of the industry and can test and validate all vehicle types under real-world conditions while also developing future products tailored specifically to the expectations of European customers.
Tests under real-world conditions remain at the core
While testing of prototypes under real-world conditions will continue to be a key part of the development process, the Square Campus protects against the adversities that outdoor testing can entail and complements the group’s existing global testing and knowledge-exchange programs, the officials further state.
Sustainable building design
The new facility will also flank the group’s
environmental goals by using recycled materials, photovoltaic modules, and heat pump systems. By 2045, the group aims to transition its global model offerings completely to vehicles with zero CO2 emissions in driving operation (WLTP). In connection with the expansion, it also announced further growth of the HMETC team, which has grown by 20 percent since 2024 to more than 500 highly qualified employees. They want to bring together experts from various disciplines to further develop visions for electrified, connected mobility. Among the group’s European development facilities is the HMETC test center at the Nürburgring, opened in 2013, which was also expanded with an investment of €13 million. Since the completion of the expansion in January 2025, it has a newly added area of 834 square meters with state-of-the-art testing facilities, workshop areas and
