Hyundai is tired of being an industry follower and has decided that 2020 will be the start of their quest to become an industrial leader.
In his New Year’s address, Euisun Chung, Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of Hyundai Motor Group said that the Korean auto giant has one objective: to take a leap as a game changer capable of setting the rules of the market. With that, the group composed of Hyundai and Kia will draw up their mid- and long-term plans based on this objective.
As the industry faces the challenge of CASE: Connected Autonomous Shared Electrified—Chung has layed down the Group’s plans for the next few years.
Among the plans set by Chung is to increase their offering of electrified vehicles from 24 to 44 models by 2025. This includes 13 hybrids, 6 plug-in hybrids, 23 battery electric vehicles, and 2 fuel cell vehicles. Among the first to arrive at showrooms are hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the Hyundai Santa Fe, Tucson, and Kia Sorento. By 2024, a new EV architecture will be introduced that will increase component sharing within the group and help them create a flexible production system.
Closer to home, Hyundai says they will introduce their EV technology through a partnership with ride-sharing service giant, Grab in Southeast Asia. After supplying 200 Hyundai Kona EVs to Grab in Singapore, they plan to deploy more zero emissions vehicles in the region.
Apart from its electrification plans, Hyundai also set the goal of introducing its own commercialized autonomous driving vehicle by 2023. This means an accelerated development of their own proprietary autonomous driving software in the next three years. By 2022, a dedicated vehicle platform will be launched, and by 2023, it will be commercially available in select regions.
In terms of business, Hyundai vows to “eliminate all unessential and uneconomical elements in their Group, and pursue cost innovations.” The Group looks to streamline its operation including consolidating ranks and titles among its management. It will also possibly look at introducing new sales channels to boost their market presence.
Amidst all this change, Hyundai vows to prioritize customers with Chung actually saying, “Our customers’ satisfaction and happiness in using our products and services are more important than our own growth.”
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