It appears Hyundai Motor Group has accelerated its transition toward electrification. According to a new report from Reuters, the Korean conglomerate will cut the number of internal combustion engines in favor of electrification, said two people close to the company who spoke to the outlet anonymously. This will result in a 50 percent reduction of vehicles powered by an internal combustion engine and was recently approved by Hyundai Motor Group’s upper management.
“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,” one of the sources told Reuters. However, a time frame for when this switch will occur wasn’t given. Hyundai also confirmed to Reuters via email that it’s accelerating the adoption of battery-electric and fuel cell vehicles. The company also said its existing internal combustion engines will be improved further. However, it won’t develop any new engines from the ground up.
By 2025, Hyundai Motor Group, which comprises the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands, aim to sell over 1 million EVs by 2025 and increase their share of the EV market to 10 percent. The company aims for an all-electric lineup by 2040 as it responds to tightening emissions regulations globally, especially in Europe and China.
In some cases, automakers have fully abandoned internal combustion engine development due to the high cost of long-range batteries. One of Reuters’ sources also noted that Hyundai stopped developing new internal combustion engines to focus on EVs and FCVs. The company will also finalize its electrification strategy within the next six months, according to one of the sources.
