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Hyundai Motor Group has announced that Jaiwon Shin will step away from his roles as head of Hyundai’s Advanced Air Mobility Division and CEO of its electric vertical take-off and landing subsidiary, Supernal, effective Aug. 31.
In a statement, Hyundai said it is implementing “a strategic leadership change to align with the evolving needs of the business” and will appoint Shin as an advisor to the group. David Rottblatt, the company’s senior director of business development, will step in to lead Supernal as interim chief operating officer. A company spokesperson told The Air Current on Aug. 27 that Iksoo Chun is still the chief financial officer of Supernal, working with Rottblatt “to determine the most effective structure and timing for future operations.”
Related: Supernal prepares eVTOL technology demonstrator for first flight in Mojave
Although Hyundai said the change aligns with Supernal’s transition “from early-stage R&D to the next phase of development and business model operation,” Supernal is apparently nowhere close to commercialization of its eVTOL air taxi. The company has yet to fly a representative full-scale prototype of its eVTOL design, despite Hyundai having sunk more than $1.5 billion into the subsidiary, multiple people familiar with the company’s finances told TAC.
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