The Hyundai Ioniq 6 was recently named World Car of the Year, so there’s no better time for the automaker to double down on EVs. In particular, the Hyundai Motor Group will invest $18.1 (£14.6 / €16.6) billion in South Korea with the goal of becoming one of the top three electric vehicle manufactures by 2030.
As part of the effort, Hyundai aims to “significantly expand” production of electric vehicles. If everything goes according to plan, the company will produce 1.51 million EVs annually in South Korea as well as 3.64 million EVs globally by 2030. Hyundai went on to say their “large-scale investment aims to upgrade Korea’s EV ecosystem and strengthen its role as a hub for driving innovation in the global automotive industry.”
Part of the investment will fund the creation of a new plant focused on electric purpose-built vehicles. Other funds will be used to expand EV production at existing facilities.
More: Kia Powers Up EV Ambitions With Purpose-Built Electric Van Coming In 2025
Away from the plant level, the Hyundai Motor Group will “invest heavily in R&D, such as developing a platform for next-generation EVs, expanding product lineups, developing core parts and advanced technologies, and establishing research facilities. It will also promote technology development with its partners.”
Hyundai didn’t go into many specifics, but noted we can expect a more diverse lineup of EVs, improved powertrains, and the “development of technologies to increase all-electric range on a single charge.” The latter is important as range anxiety is still an issue for some consumers.
On the platform side, Hyundai said they’ll accelerate development of next-generation platforms to improve EV performance. They went on to say the new Integrated Modular Architecture will be introduced in 2025 and include an eM platform designed exclusively for passenger electric vehicles.
In 2030, the Hyundai Motor Group will offer a total of 31 electric vehicles from the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. The company didn’t say what we can expect, but said the Ioniq 7 will arrive in 2024. It will essentially be Hyundai’s version of the Kia EV9.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg as an assortment of other models are on the horizon. In particular, Genesis is going electric-only and teased eight upcoming models back in 2021.
