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28/05/2021

Its Combustion Engine Line-Up Will Be Cut Down By Hyundai And Focus On EVs




Its Combustion Engine Line-Up Will Be Cut Down By Hyundai And Focus On EVs
The number of combustion engine models in its portfolio will be slashed by the South Korean car maker Hyundai Motor Group in order to free up resources which can be used for making electric vehicles (EVs), said recent reports quoting source information.
 
The company plans to reduce the number of fossil fuel models its makes by about 50 per cent and this strategy was approved by the top management of the company in March, said reports quoting sources with knowledge of the matter. 
 
"It is an important business move, which first and foremost allows the release of R&D resources to focus on the rest: electric motors, batteries, fuel cells," a report quoted a person with knowledge of the matter. No time frame was provided.
 
There was also no direct response to the reports from Hyundai. The company however said in an email to the media that the adoption of eco-friendly vehicles such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and battery EVs was being accelerated by the company. The company also added that the efficiency of its internal combustion engine vehicle line-up in emerging markets will also be attempted to be enhanced. It also has taken up a strategy to gradually expand battery EV offerings in key markets such as the United States, Europe and China and wants to become an electric only car maker by 2040, the automaker also added.
 
The target of selling of about one million EVs every year by 2025 so that the group is able to achieve a 10 per cent market share of the global EV market has been set by Hyundai Motor Group which has the companies of Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp and Genesis in the group.
 
All major automakers are accelerating their shift to EVs as they are faced with tightening CO2 emission targets in Europe and China.
 
Some of the auto makers have however already said that their days of investing in conventional engines are over because of the huge cost of developing electric motors and increasing the driving range of car batteries.
 
"Hyundai has stopped developing new powertrains for internal combustion engine cars," one of the reports quoted a source as saying.
 
Investment in combustion engines was announced to be stopped completely in Novembe4r by the PSA Group shortly before merging with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis. The combustion engines of Daimler have recently been revamped which, the company’s executives say, will be enough for the company to tide it through the electrification process.
 
Plans of going electric only have already been announced by some car makers such as Sweden's Volvo which is owned by China's Geely as the company said it would become an electric only vehicle maker by 2030. The line up of its cars in the European market is also planned to be completely electric only by Ford around 2030.
 
Since it has one of the broadest ranges of engine and transmission technologies in the industry, therefore the move to shift to electric cars is an important strategic move for Hyundai, which together with Kia is one of the top ten auto groups of the world.
 
(Source:www.livemint.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell

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