Hyundai wants to sell humanoid and robot dogs through its car dealerships, with financing available

Hyundai CEO José Muñoz envisions selling humanoid and dog-like robots at local Hyundai dealerships, even offering financing options for these costly machines. The company's CEO revealed this during the investor day. Hyundai Motor Group acquired an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021, valuing it at $1.1 billion, and aims to make a return on that investment.

One of the company's plans is to build a factory producing 30,000 Atlas humanoid robots annually by 2028. These robots will be deployed at Hyundai's Georgia plant from the same year, with plans to roll them out across all global production sites. Hyundai has employed Spot, a quadrupedal robot, for various tasks such as inspections and maintenance at its facilities.

Stretch, a warehouse-focused robot, is essentially an arm on a movable base. These robots cost a substantial amount, with Spot previously starting at $74,500. Hyundai Capital, the company's financing arm, is exploring ways to finance these robots, though it's unclear if this applies to enterprise customers or a future consumer market.

Tesla, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are also venturing into this space, with Tesla building Optimus, BMW testing Figure 02, and Mercedes-Benz testing Apptronik's Apollo in their factories. Currently, factories and warehouses are the most realistic commercial settings for these robots. Although companies often claim robots will handle dangerous or exhausting jobs, there is a valid concern that they may replace human workers.

While it remains to be seen if consumers will buy Atlas alongside an Ioniq, commercial robots are already in action, filling labor shortages.