Is Hyundai Done Making Electric Vehicles?
The first member of Hyundai’s Ioniq family–the gas-electric hybrid–has just been made available for purchase, and with the other two Ioniq siblings on the way, Hyundai is already looking ahead at the future of its eco-friendly vehicles. The much-anticipated Ioniq all-electric is a monumental step forward for the brand, but critics are already anticipating it being overshadowed by its competitors with longer single-charge ranges.
With obstacles such as these–in the midst of a quickly-changing industry–what does Hyundai intend to do? According to an interview with Reuters, senior leadership of Hyundai revealed that instead of backing down from the challenge, the Korean automaker is preparing a brand-new, all-original platform for its future electric vehicles (EVs).
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Instead of throwing in the towel and focusing solely on other avenues, like the fuel cell technology it has been banking on, Hyundai is investing heavily in growing its electric vehicle offerings.
Admitting the costliness of the move, Hyundai senior vice president Lee Ki-Sang stated in the interview, “The electric-vehicle platform will require high up-front investments but we are doing this to prepare for the future.”
This brand-new electric vehicle platform will allow the automaker to engineer its EVs and hybrids to frames and layouts that are intentionally designed for electric drivetrain optimization.
This EV platform will no doubt play a role in the many electric vehicles that Hyundai and its Genesis brand intend to fill their lineups with in the next 5-10 years.
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News Source: Reuters
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