Hyundai has reportedly pulled the plug on the internal combustion (IC) engine development programme in order to be able to heavily invest in electric vehicles (EVs).
It is no secret that Hyundai is focusing more on its EV lineup and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) nowadays and it is for the same reason that it launched Ioniq as a separate EV brand last year.
The Hyundai Motor Group was said to have put an end to the development of diesel engines earlier this year and now, it turns out, the group will not throw any money into IC engines in the future.
The strategy is said to have been approved by group top management in March, while the plan to switch to fully electric models will be finalised within the next 6 months.
This move is expected to free up plentiful resources for the group as it has a comprehensive set of powertrains that are used in cars sold under the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands.
But more importantly, this move will result in a 50 percent reduction of IC engine models from the Hyundai group and help accelerate work on its EV and FCEV models.
By 2025, the Hyundai Group aims to sell 1 million EVs a year, holding 10 percent sales share for pure-electric models across the globe. Come 2040, the group will have achieved full electrification.
Source – Reuters.com