Hyundai Motor, Kia win ISO certification for in-house automotive semiconductor development process

Hyundai Motor and Kia have obtained international certification for their jointly developed automotive semiconductor development process.

The two automakers announced Thursday that they held a certification ceremony Wednesday at Pangyo Techone in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Yu Ji-han, executive vice president and head of the SDV (software-defined vehicle) Platform Division, and other executives were joined by representatives of TÜV Rheinland, the international standards certification body, to receive the "ISO-based Functional Safety Process International Standard" certification.

The certification confirms that the companies' end-to-end semiconductor development process and functional safety management system meet international standards. Hyundai Motor and Kia have operated a proprietary standard process optimized for automotive SoC (System on Chip) development since 2025.

TÜV Rheinland, one of the world's leading testing and certification organizations, conducted a comprehensive review covering the functional safety management system, process definitions, organizational roles and responsibilities, standard deliverables, templates, guidelines and checklists. The assessment focused particularly on whether the entire development pipeline — from goal-setting through design, implementation and verification — maintains consistency, and whether configuration and change management systems meet international standard requirements.

Following its review, TÜV Rheinland found that system, hardware and software development are organically integrated throughout Hyundai Motor and Kia's semiconductor development process, with clear stage-by-stage criteria and deliverables. In addition, TÜV Rheinland determined that the companies have established a system capable of identifying errors early and ensuring safety requirements are consistently reflected through to the final product.

With the certification securing a foundation for developing automotive semiconductors under a globally recognized functional safety framework, Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to extend the standard development process across all semiconductor development activities to strengthen safety and reliability.

"We are pleased to have objectively confirmed that Hyundai Motor and Kia's semiconductor development process aligns with global standards," Yu said. "We will focus all our capabilities on developing automotive semiconductors that can lead the future mobility market."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor and Kia each set new all-time October sales records in the United States last month.

According to the companies' US operations, combined October sales reached 153,460 units, up 10.3 percent from 139,120 units in the same month a year earlier. Hyundai Motor sold 73,452 units while Kia sold 80,008 units, with both brands setting new October records.