Hyundai outlines ambitious electric vehicle push with new models and chargers

South Korean automaker Hyundai intends to further ramp up its electrification activities in 2021, starting with the launch of an all-new IONIQ 5, which will kick off the company’s new dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) IONIQ line-up.

Hyundai announced at the end of January its plan to ramp up its electrification activities this year, after selling nearly 60,000 battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles in Europe in 2020, accounting for 13% of its European sales.

The company plans to launch 12 new BEV models over the next four years, and to fully electrify its line-up around the globe by 2040, when it hopes to account for 8-10% of the global EV market.

In the interim, by 2025, Hyundai expects to sell 560,000 BEVs each year around the globe, sitting as one of the top three manufacturers of zero-emission vehicles.

Hyundai’s next steps will start with the launch of the all-new IONIQ 5, the first model of its new Ioniq line-up brand and the first model built on new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

Featuring 800-volt high-speed charging, Vehicle to Load (V2L) technology, and a high-tech, innovative design, Hyundai is banking on the new Ioniq 5 becoming “both a brand shaper for the company and a game-changer in the industry.”

Beyond battery electric vehicles, Hyundai is also hoping to further the development of charging points and hydrogen refuelling stations. The company has already delivered 50 Xcient Fuel Cell trucks to Switzerland – after the first 10 were delivered in July 2020 – and plans to deliver over 1,600 of the trucks to Switzerland by 2025.

“Last year was exceptionally important in our transition to future mobility,” said Michael Cole, President & CEO Hyundai Motor Europe.

“We made the investment to electrify nearly our entire fleet. This year, we plan to harvest the fruits of that investment by maintaining our strong market share and selling more EVs than ever before.”

Hyundai’s reinvigorated focus on electrification follows reports in January that the company will reportedly halt development of new diesel engines as part of the group’s larger initiative to transition to EVs and hydrogen fuel cell EVs.

According to local media reports and industry sources, Hyundai Motor Group intends to suspend development of new diesel engines from the second half of 2021. According to a source speaking to the Korea Times, Hyundai will “continue assembling diesel vehicles for a while and make improvements to existing engines, the bottom-line strategy is to phase them out.”

“It is a global automotive trend to stop developing new diesel engines,” a source said, speaking to the Korea Times reporter Nam Hyun-woo.

“However, this does not mean that Hyundai will end diesel vehicle production immediately, and the group will release updated versions of existing engines for a while.”