Hyundai $80 Billion E-Mobility Strategy Based On All New EV Platform

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At its Investors Day 2023 event this week, Hyundai announced plans to invest $80 billion to achieve its latest Hyundai Motor Way vehicle electrification strategy. Of that total amount, about $40 billion will be dedicated to developing next generation batteries and creating an all new platform for future electric cars known as Integrated Modular Architecture.

Most of us are just getting familiar with the company’s E-GMP platform which underpins the current electric car offerings from Hyundai, Kia, and  Genesis. What makes IMA so special? Hyundai President and CEO Jaehoon Chang explained to investors that with the current E-GMP platform, components can only be used among vehicles that share the same platform. With IMA, however, over 80 common modules can be utilized across different segments, irrespective of vehicle type, which will permit the use of more combinations. That, in turn, will allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in the development process and pave the way for significant cost savings.

The E-GMP platform is only usable for vehicles up to the size of midsize SUV. The second generation IMA platform will be used for nearly all vehicle classes, ranging from small and large SUVs to pickup trucks, as well as the flagship models of the Genesis brand.

Hyundai plans to use a range of battery cells — including next generation NCM and LFP chemistries — for the second generation platform. The company is also exploring different shape batteries to enhance versatility. To extend driving range, the IMA platform will enable battery charging and discharging while driving utilizing an independent power bank. In addition, the integration of an AI-based battery management system will ensure real time monitoring and diagnosis of battery conditions to enhance safety and prevent thermal runaway events.

There’s More To The Hyundai Plan. Much More

Hyundai isn’t investing $80 billion just to create a next generation platform for electric vehicles. It is also pursuing advanced battery technologies with a variety of business and research partners. It has established a specialized battery development organization within its Namyang R&D Center which will focus on battery system and cell design, battery safety reliability, performance development, and next generation batteries.

The company has formed a dedicated organization for each function required for battery development and is securing/training specialized personnel. It is also improving battery performance, developing advanced technologies for next generation batteries and building infrastructure. It also says it will introduce more models powered by LFP battery cells to meet the specific needs of different markets. The company is also pursuing ways to stabilize material supply. Part of that strategy will rely on obtaining critical battery materials derived from recycling existing batteries, especially nickel and lithium.

The company’s plans include a focus on autonomous vehicles, an area in which it has some lofty goals. In a joint venture with Motional, autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 taxis are set to begin operating in Las Vegas by the end of this year. That program, in cooperation with Uber and Lyft, is intended to act as a pilot program that will expand to cover most of the US over the next 10 years.

After acquiring Boston Dynamics in 2021, Hyundai is internalizing that company’s core hardware and software through its Robotics Lab. The industrial inspection robot Spot, intelligence logistics robot Stretch, and multi-purpose humanoid robot Atlas will continue to strengthen its future competitiveness, the company says.

The Robotics Lab will also developing cognitive judgment technology, natural language, spatial navigation and movement, and differentiated mobile platform technologies — services that will create new value for customers through a robot management system, motion sensing wearable robots MEX, VEX and CEX, and multi-purpose mobile platforms MobED and DAL-e.

Air mobility is on the Hyundai agenda as well. Through Supernal, a subsidiary established in 2021, Hyundai is developing the technology to become an air frame manufacturer. Working with Microsoft, Rolls Royce, KT, Hyundai Engineering, and other partners in the telecommunications and construction sectors, it plans to expand into various related businesses and lead the way in building an entire AAM ecosystem.

Hydrogen Rears Its Head

Along with everything else that is going on at Hyundai, the company is committing to pursuing advances in hydrogen power. Going forward, it intends to build a Mobilize Energy toolbox for the production of hydrogen and manufacturing of green steel as well as the decarbonization of heat and power sources for business sites through hydrogen. The company plans to realize carbon neutrality with clean hydrogen, including biogas and waste plastic-based hydrogen, powering its EV production facilities and all the logistics, power generation, and infrastructure surrounding them.

By expanding the supply of hydrogen vehicles, the Group will also improve the logistics system at seaports and airports. In addition, as next-generation hydrogen fuel cell technology advances, fuel cell systems will be used to power data centers and other applications.

Hyundai And Its Core Business

Phew. That’s a lot of stuff Hyundai has taken on. Seldom have we come across a press release that use the word “and” so frequently. Clearly the company has a vision of the future and has every intention of achieving its goals. But in the meantime, it has to continue selling lots of internal combustion cars and trucks to generate the money it will need to accomplish its goals.

The proportion of global EV production is set to increase from 8 percent this year to 34 percent in 2030. The company plans to expand production by region through a two-track approach of line conversion in ICE factories and new dedicated EV plant establishment.

Since the demand for ICE vehicles remains high, the company is currently producing EVs on mixed production lines as it is more cost efficient than building more EV-dedicated factories. By utilizing existing lines, construction time is much shorter than building new plants and can be ramped up quickly to meet EV demand. Currently, Hyundai has factories in the US, South Korea, the Czech Republic, and India. It plans to convert additional lines as market demand dictates.

In addition, it is building dedicated EV factories in regions that are expected to grow significantly in the future and require localization. The new factories will be equipped with new “smart factory” technologies to maximize the efficiency of EV production.

Hyundai’s first dedicated EV factory is the Metaplant America in Georgia, which is expected to begin producing up to 300,000 cars annually by the end of 2024. A second EC only factory is under construction in South Korea and will start production in 2025.

Hyundai has big plans for North America. At the present time, 0.7% of its sales in the US are EVs. It expects that proportion to increase to 75% soon. In Europe, its EV production target is 54% versus 7% currently. In other markets, Hyundai is raising its EV sales target from 2% to 16%.

Hyundai Motor is targeting more than 10 percent profitability for EVs in 2030 based on the EV development system implemented by the IMA, high margin derivative model operation, cost reduction through production facility operations strategy and new revenue generation through the production of specialty vehicles.

The next three years will be dominated by a 50/50 funding split between ICE vehicles and future technologies. From 2026 onward, when EV volume expansion and the application of next-generation EV platforms are in full swing, investment in ICE will gradually decrease. And in Phase 3, when the sum of revenues through EV and software will be expected to exceed ICE, spending on electrification and future mobility will overtake ICE, the company says.

Hyundai And China

Following the sale of its first plant in China in 2021 and the shutdown of its fifth plant in China in 2022, Hyundai Motor plans to halt production at another plant this year. The two factories that have been suspended will be sold and the remaining two factories will optimize production while expanding exports to emerging markets.

The number of models offered in China will be reduced from 13 to 8, with an emphasis on SUVs and Genesis luxury brand models. The company plans to actively promote the high performance N brand, which recently announced its entry into the Chinese market.

The company says it has decided to actively respond not only to local business in China but also to the intensifying market competition following the global expansion of Chinese automakers. It plans to overcome the risks associated with Chinese competitors that are entering the global market by strengthening its differentiation in brands, sales and services — areas where it believes it has an advantage.

The Takeaway

Hyundai has put a lot on its plate and yet it seems to have a comprehensive plan in place to achieve all the goals it has set for itself. Perhaps the one aspect of this extensive announcement that slides a bit under the radar is in reference to China. Every automaker in the world rushed to sell cars in China starting twenty years or more ago. Now the Chinese have learned to make their own cars and are casting covetous eyes on their own foreign markets. Hyundai is acknowledging the realities of a changed sales environment in China. Those other companies could perhaps draw valuable lessons from the success or failure of Hyundai’s strategy.