Seoul, Dec 17 (IANS): Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top carmaker, said on Sunday it will join hands with the United Arab Emirates' sovereign wealth fund as part of efforts to strengthen its presence in the eco-friendly and future mobility market.

Under the memorandum of understanding, Hyundai Motor and Mubadala Investment Co. will cooperate in the fields of hydrogen, green aluminum, eco-friendly mobility and advanced air mobility (AAM).

The two sides will work together to expand Hyundai's resource-recycling hydrogen production business, which refers to a method of producing clean hydrogen using biogas from organic waste, and green steel production business, where hydrogen is used to make steel, reports Yonhap news agency.

In the eco-friendly mobility area, they will partner up to create electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, and for supply of hydrogen vehicles and the development of electricity-based fuel.

"We plan to push for various cooperation to make our society more sustainable and secure new growth engines, while also contributing to the global energy paradigm shift," Chang Jae-hoon, Hyundai Motor's CEO, said.

Meanwhile, the combined vehicle sales of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia in the United States surpassed 1.5 million units this year, according to industry data on Sunday.

Hyundai and Kia sold 788,403 and 722,176 units, respectively, over the January-November period, the data showed.

Hyundai's figures include sales of its independent Genesis brand, which also hit an annual record of 62,372 units.

The combined figure marks the highest yearly sales since Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986. The previous high was the 1.49 million posted in 2021.