Hyundai Boosts its Electric Vehicle and Related Investments to $79.2 Billion Though 2030

author: FutureCar Staff    

The 2022 Hyundai INOIQ 5 electric SUV is the first of many new models on the way from the automaker.

Automakers planning to become significant players in the fast growing electric vehicle segment will need to invest billions of dollars. But it's the automakers willing to make the biggest  investments that might take the lead in the global EV market, which includes South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Company.

Hyundai Motor unveiled a strategic roadmap today which will accelerate its electrification ambition as it pursues sustainable progress for the company. The plans include an investment of $79.2 billion through 2030 to boost its annual EV sales to 1.87 million units and take a 7% global EV market share by decade end.

Hyundai aims to achieve an operating profit margin of 10% or higher in EV businesses by 2030 by boosting its competitiveness in hardware and software capabilities. 

President and CEO Jaehoon Chang and other executives presented the plans to shareholders and investors, and other various stakeholders at the ‘2022 CEO Investor Day' virtual forum in Seoul. 

"Hyundai is successfully accelerating its transition to electrification and becoming a global leader in EVs despite a challenging business environment caused by the global chip shortage and ongoing pandemic," said Chang. "Along with our seamless efforts to improve EV value, Hyundai Motor will continue to secure its business sustainability as a ‘Mobility Solutions Provider' through advanced technologies of not only hardware but also software." 

The roadmap for Hyundai's battery electric vehicle (BEV) ramp up includes strengthening its model lineups, optimizing manufacturing capacity, and boosting its hardware and software competitiveness. 

Hyundai plans to introduce 17 BEV models 11 of which will be sold as Hyundai models six models from its luxury brand Genesis by 2030. The models include three sedans, six SUVs, one light commercial vehicle and one new type model. 

The company also unveiled updated targets for sales and financial performance to be achieved by 2030. In total, Hyundai has earmarked KRW 95.5 trillion ($78.9 billion) of investment for future businesses by 2030, including KRW 19.4 trillion ($16.1 billion) for electrification and another KRW 12 trillion ($9.9 billion) for software capabilities, which includes building software-defined electric vehicles that support over-the-air software updates.

The $16.1 billion investment in electrification will also include building EV charging stations and strategic technology alliances with EV charging providers. 

Hyundai said its aims to develop new software architectures to provide a more satisfying ownership experience for customers. The automaker plans to apply an over-the-air (OTA) update to new models that will be launched starting at the end of 2022. By 2025, all Hyundai models will support OTA software updates.

To develop Hyundai software-based connected vehicle and data services, the company will establish specialized centers of excellence for software development in Korea and abroad.

Hyundai's Standardized EV Architecture 

Hyundai aims to establish a high efficiency manufacturing process for BEV production to accelerate its transition into electrification.

In order to achieve a 10% operating margin Hyundai Motor plans to introduce an Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA), evolved from its current global modular EV platform ("E-GMP") that is the foundation of new IONIQ 5 and Genesis GV60.

The IMA will be utilized for Hyundai's passenger BEV platform but also as its exclusive purpose-built vehicle (PBV) platform. Hyundai says the new platform will help to streamline production processes and reduce vehicle costs. The IMA standardizes the vehicle's chassis, battery system and motor. The innovative architecture can be used for BEV models in all segments and reduce the number of integrated control units in each vehicle by one-third.

It is a significant improvement over Hyundai's current BEV development system, which uses different types of battery packs for each model. The IMA can be equipped with standardized battery packs.

Hyundai plans to use five standardized electric motors of all of its BEV models. This modular motor system will help reduce costs and weight, which can help improve range. 

The fully-electric Genesis GV60.

In addition to a new model lineup of BEVs, Hyundai will continue its work on autonomous driving. The company's Highway Driving Pilot (HDP) is a SAE Level 3 autonomous driving system and will be offered in the new Genesis G90 in the second half of this year. 

Hyundai will also continue to expand upon Motional, its autonomous driving joint venture with Aptiv. Motional plans to expand the service area of its robotaxis using a fleet of self-driving IONIQ 5 SUVs outfitted with autonomous driving technology developed by Aptiv.  

Motional will soon start self-driving delivery services through partnerships with Uber Eats.

Hyundai's unprecedented electrification push also requires investments in battery technology. The company is working to increase the local procurement rate of batteries through strategic alliances with battery manufacturers in major regions, including the U.S. Hyundai expects to obtain more than 50% of its next-generation lithium batteries for BEVs starting in 2025.

So far, Hyundai said it secured sufficient battery supply to meet its sales targets by 2023, but will continue cooperation with battery suppliers with a goal of securing 170 GWh of batteries for its future models, including the Genesis luxury brand by 2030.

Hyundai is cooperating with various global partners to improve energy density and cost efficiency of solid-state batteries.

To further prepare the company for its electrification plans, Hyundai has already converted its teams focused on combustion engine powertrain development into units dedicated solely to electrification development. 

FutureCar Staff