Mexican Media Brands
Hyundai/Kia to Spend Big on EVs, Mobility
The Korea-based company is making a big commitment. Make that BIG.
#hybrid
Share
Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest $86 billion (100 trillion won) over the next 5 years to develop and launch a range of next-generation vehicles, mobility services, robotics and infrastructure improvements.
The spending spree encompasses the group’s automotive brands (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis), as well as its commercial vehicle unit and other transportation-related ventures.
Global partnerships, such as the autonomous vehicle joint venture formed last year with Aptiv, and “open innovation” across diverse industries are expected to play a big part of the plan.
Accelerating Electrification
Much of the new investment is earmarked for electrification, expanding the Group’s lineup to 44 models, nearly doubling last year’s offering, including:
- 13 hybrids
- 6 plug-in hybrids
- 23 full-electric vehicles
- 2 fuel cell models
The rollout starts this year with hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants of three crossover/SUVs: the Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe, and Kia Sorento. An all-new EV will be added next year. This will be followed by a dedicated EV architecture in 2024 that Hyundai says will allow it to reduce costs by sharing components across models.
On the fuel cell front, Hyundai is eying applications for everything from cars and commercial vehicles—via a joint venture with Cummins—to trains, forklifts, drones and stationary power systems. Annual deliveries of the hydrogen-powered fleet are forecasted to total more than 200,000 units by 2030. This compares with about 5,000 last year for the fuel cell-powered Hyundai Nexo crossover.
Automation, Air Taxis, Car-Sharing
Hyundai/Kia and supplier affiliate Hyundai Mobis are committing a combined $2 billion in the 50:50 venture with Aptiv. A production-ready Level 4/5 autonomous vehicle platform is targeted by 2022, followed by limited commercial applications a year later. More widespread use is expected by the end of 2024.
Also in the hopper are:
- Air taxis
- Car-sharing through its new L.A.-based MoceanLab unit
- Short-term vehicle subscriptions (launched last year in Russia)
- Expanded collaboration with mobility platform companies, such as Grab (southeast Asia) and Ola (India)
- Smart city technologies
RELATED CONTENT
-
Special Report: Toyota & Issues Electric
Although Toyota’s focus on hybrid powertrains at the seeming expense of the development of a portfolio of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for the market could cause some concern among those of an environmental orientation, in that Toyota doesn’t seem to be sufficiently supportive of the environment, in their estimation. Here’s something that could cause a reconsideration of that point of view.
-
On Traffic Jams, Vehicle Size, Building EVs and more
From building electric vehicles—and training to do so—to considering traffic and its implication on drivers and vehicle size—there are plenty of considerations for people and their utilization of technology in the industry.
-
Revolutionary Hydrogen Storage Tank Design Could Propel H2 Deployment
Rather than storing hydrogen in a large cylindrical tank, Noble Gas has developed a conformal system
