Hyundai to play pure-electric catch-up
Chinese market forcing Korean car-maker to rapidly develop EV architectureHyundai has announced at the Seoul motor show that it is rapidly developing an all-new dedicated platform to underpin pure-electric vehicles to help it catch up with its rivals.
The unnamed platform is claimed to package the large lithium-ion battery packs in the vehicle's floors -- a move that will not only boost interior space but allow future Hyundai (and Kia) models to carry bigger batteries for a longer range.
Aimed chiefly at its biggest market, China, the Korean car-making giant says it will offer nine new "eco-friendly" vehicles by 2020 and, along with sister brand Kia, will sell 28 different ultra-low emission cars worldwide by the end of this decade.
The first dedicated pure-electric vehicle based on the new platform will be a new SUV with a range of more than 300km that will be sold globally, but perhaps not Down Under.
Hyundai Australia is expected to launch all-electric, as well as hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of its all-new IONIQ by early next year.
The lack of local infrastructure and government incentives for pure-electric vehicles has so far dissuaded Hyundai and other mainstream car-makers (except Nissan, which offers the LEAF) from investing in zero-emission vehicles here.
Hyundai says it is already working with Chinese battery suppliers to help lower prices of the costly technology.
Later this year a plug-in hybrid Sonata goes on sale overseas before the first in a range of new EVs come on line in 2018.
Hyundai's premium Genesis brand will also offer pure-electric vehicles, says the car-maker, with a pure-electric luxury car arriving around 2021. Before then, a plug-in hybrid model will arrive earlier in 2019.
As well as EVs, Hyundai says it will soon offer a fuel-cell SUV that will have a range of more than 800km.
Thought to be based on the FE Fuel Cell concept that was unveiled at the Geneva motor show, the long-range SUV will go on sale in Korea next year along with a new fuel-cell bus.
At the Korean car show Kia announced it had already begun work on developing its first fuel cell vehicle that would use Hyundai's tried-and-tested FCV tech.
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