South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group will launch an electric vehicle (EV) only platform early next year that will minimize production time and costs by using its own battery technology.
The strategy highlights the efforts of the world’s No.5 auto group to become a major player in the global EV market, as car manufacturers around the world are investing billions of dollars in developing battery technology, which, compared to combustion engine models, keeps EV prices high.
In September, market leader Tesla said it aims to reduce the cost of its EV batteries by half and bring more production of the main in-house auto component to lower EV prices to $25,000 each.
Hyundai hopes to be able to use its own battery module technology across different EV models through its dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and minimize the number of components by 60 percent.
“E-GMP will be highly effective in expanding the Group’s EV leadership position as it will enable the company to enlarge its EV line-up over a relatively short period through modularization and standardization,” it said in a statement.
An E-GMP-based electric vehicle can give a single-charge driving range of 500 kms (310 miles) or more which is an increase of at least 23 percent from the Kona EV, the longest driving range model of the Hyundai EV line-up.
Together, Hyundai Motor and its sister group, Kia Motors, plan to sell 1 million EVs in 2025 to become the third largest seller of EVs in the world.
It has promised 23 new EVs including 11 all-electric models by 2025 and plans to introduce a family of EVs under the ‘Ioniq’ brand from early next year to spearhead its next transition toward EV production.
