Hyundai pulls plug on combustion engine development

Hyundai Motor Group has closed the Engine Development Center at its R&D headquarters in a radical reorganisation that will see its 12,000 engineers and R&D personnel all work to create next-generation electric cars.

According to newswire Business Korea, the closure of the Engine Development Center at the Namyang Research Institute is part of the largest reorganisation of the car-maker's R&D operation ever undertaken.

Signalling the death knell for the internal combustion engine, the South Korean group will continue to manufacture petrol and diesel models until 2040, by which time all its brands including Hyundai and Kia will have switched to a full zero-emissions line-up.

It's thought all engineers and R&D personnel working to develop more efficient internal combustion engines have now been transferred from HMG's Powertrain Team to its Electrification Development Team that is currently working on pure-electric powertrains for Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and the IONIQ sub-brand's vehicles.

Some of the Engine Development Center facilities have also been seconded to help develop electric motors.

At the same time it ends its combustion engine activities Hyundai Motor Group has also established a new Battery Development Center that will help with the creation of lithium-ion cells and next-gen solid-state batteries in-house, rather than buying them from a supplier.

It's been reported that the radical reorganisation was thought necessary by senior bosses to plough all its resources into shortening the development time of future battery-electric cars.

Further streamlining has also occurred to cut internal red tape, plus unification of internal teams to improve communication.

In the pipeline, the Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch its IONIQ 6 in 2022, followed by the larger flagship IONIQ 7 SUV in 2024.

Alongside its enlarged electric car R&D division, Hyundai Motor will continue to work on its hydrogen fuel-cell technology that remains a zero-emission alternative to battery-electric cars and trucks.

Just last week Hyundai announced the retirement of Albert Biermann, the president of its R&D division. Despite stepping down, it's thought the former BMW M boss will continue to lend his expertise to the development of future electrified performance cars.