Hyundai Motor Group announced its future investment plans at a ceremony in Kia’s dedicated plant for the production of purpose-built vehicles (PBV) in Korea. The highlight of the ceremony was that the group has set its sights on being one of the top 3 EV manufacturers in the World by 2030, taking the fight to Tesla & BYD - with combined sales of Hyundai, Kia, & Genesis brands’ electric models. The group also announced an investment of KRW 24 trillion (around Rs. 1,48,700 crore or USD 18.1 billion) in the domestic EV industry in Korea by the year 2030 via its brands - Kia, Hyundai Motor & Hyundai Mobis - to aid in R&D, production and export of these EVs.
The Hyundai Motor Group is set to expand its annual EV production in Korea to 15.1 lakh units, and its global EV production to 36.4 lakh units by 2030. Its brand Kia is also building a dedicated plant to manufacture electric PBVs, and will also expand the existing EV lines at plants. Furthermore, Hyundai Motor Group is also set to invest heavily in R&D, including new facilities which will help the group develop new platforms for next-generation EVs.
The group is developing dedicated platforms for each vehicle class, which will all fall under its Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA) system. This will include the ‘eM’ platform, which is being designed exclusively for passenger EVs and will be introduced by 2025. The platforms using IMA can standardise batteries and motors to increase the product development speed, while also proving to be cost-efficient. This may also allow the group to offer multiple variants with different battery & motor sizes across models, as seen in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 & Kia EV6.
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With the increased production, Hyundai Motor Group will also have as many as 31 EV models on sale by 2030 globally, across its 3 brands. This product expansion is already underway, as the Kia EV9 3-row SUV is set to be launched later this year, with the Hyundai Ioniq 7 slated to launch in 2024. To cater to this expanded portfolio and the lakhs of EVs set to hit the streets by 2030, Hyundai Motor Group is also developing high-speed charging infrastructure, under its E-pit high-speed EV-charging brand introduced in April 2021.
Adding to the growth & development of the Korean auto industry, Hyundai Motor Group will also bolster the competitiveness of auto parts through a cooperation program between itself and its suppliers. The group has already operated a program of KRW 5.2 trillion (Around Rs. 32,200 crore or USD 3.9 billion) to “better support suppliers on their profit and loss, liquidity and competitiveness improvement measures”, and plans to significantly expand support for suppliers. The group will share cost burdens with its suppliers on the fluctuation of raw materials and reflect those changes in the prices of goods provided. It has also established a business fund for its internal combustion engine parts suppliers to diversify their business and help supply the group.
