The Hyundai Motor Group, which includes the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, wants to become one of the top three electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers in the world by 2030.
The company plans to achieve this by investing KRW 24 trillion (AU$27.3 billion) in the South Korean EV industry through its subsidiaries.
This investment will expand the annual EV production in South Korea to 1.51 million units and global volume to 3.64 million units by 2030.
Hyundai Motor Group will have a total lineup of 31 EV models across the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands by 2030.
A major portion of the group’s EV investment will be focused on developing a platform for next-generation EVs.
Development of dedicated EV platforms will be done sequentially for each vehicle class under the group’s Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA), which includes the ‘eM’ platform for passenger vehicles that is due in 2025.
Hyundai claims this architecture will enable more diverse product lineups with enhanced batteries and motors to improve all-electric range.
Additional avenues of investment include research and development as well as the expansion of domestic EV charging networks to bolster South Korea’s competitiveness in the electrified market.
The Group also says it will “share cost burdens” with suppliers due to the fluctuation of raw material prices and “reflect those changes in the prices of goods provided”.
It’s also establishing a fund to enable suppliers of internal combustion engine parts to borrow business funds at low interest rates.
The announcement of the Hyundai Motor Group’s ambitions was made at the groundbreaking ceremony for Kia’s new production plant for purpose-built vehicles (PBV).
Kia is expanding its existing EV production lines to support increased capacities, with a goal of selling one million EVs annually by 2026 and 1.6 million by 2030.
The brand has revealed its flagship three-row full-size electric SUV, the EV9, this year, which will touch down in Australia before the end of the year.
The Hyundai Ioniq 7 electric SUV will be on sale in Australia at some point in 2024.
