Hyundai Motor Group's bold EV strategy could make it No. 1
For years, I didn’t understand why Toyota executives were terrified of Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia and Genesis. Today, I don’t understand why every automaker isn’t.
After decades of steady but unspectacular growth, the South Korean giant appears primed for a leap. Bold engineering choices, daring designs and aggressive investment could lift it to the front of rising electric vehicle sales around the world.
“Hyundai Motor Group already matches perennial powerhouse Toyota when it comes to quality and customer satisfaction,” said Michael Dunne, CEO of ZoZoGO, a consultant specializing in EVs worldwide. “Now, Hyundai, Genesis and Kia are racing past Toyota — and many other automakers — in electric vehicles, design and software.”
“Driving that success is a culture of meticulous, almost fanatic, attention to what makes customers happy. And an eye to the future.”
A history of missteps, a plan for growth
Success isn’t assured. HMG has demonstrated a propensity for shooting itself in the foot.
In the last decade, embarrassments in the U.S. market alone include:
Cars so easy to hot wire some insurance companies refused to cover them
Hundreds of millions of dollars in fines for exaggerating fuel economy and violating emission standards
Recalling 517,000 vehicles that could spontaneously combust
Replacing thousands of faulty engines in vehicles built 2011-19
Today, the automaker’s operations in China — the biggest EV market — are struggling, Dunne said.
“HMG is flourishing in the U.S. and all major global markets — except China. Rising nationalistic sentiment and much-improved Chinese offerings from the likes of BYD and NIO are winning Chinese consumers away from (global brands). Hyundai-Kia sales in China have dropped by 50% since their peak in 2017.”
Primed for growth
Despite those challenges, Hyundai and Kia’s customer satisfaction scores have been soaring, and newcomer Genesis is challenging established luxury brands — tributes to their vehicles’ looks, value and overall appeal.
Now the automaker’s three brands are combining those virtues with leadership in a key EV attribute: charging time.
HMG plans to invest more than $25 billion in EV and battery production by 2030, when it expects to build 3.6 million EVs around the world.
“Hyundai-Kia is launching vehicles for North America at a faster pace than VW Group or GM,” said John Voelcker, a journalist who has long specialized in EVs.
Fast charging and flexible architectures
HMG’s strategy included two unique decisions that may give it a leg up on competitors.
Developing vehicle architectures that support both EVs and conventional engines. That’s allowing the Genesis luxury brand to add EVs to its lineup faster than many competitors.
Offering fast-charging batteries that can accommodate currents up to 400kW/800 volts — the fastest charging available today. Only Porsche’s high-end luxury EVs can currently match that system, which allows Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs to top up in a fraction of the time comparably priced EVs from Ford, GM, Nissan and Toyota require. Charging quickly at DC fast chargers is one of the keys to making EVs practical for vacation drives and weekend getaways.
“Having a multienergy platform allows them to get EVs on the market, but continue serving demand for internal combustion-powered vehicles as well,” S&P Mobility principal analyst Stephanie Brinley said.
“Demand for internal combustion vehicles will be strong for many years. They’re positioned to serve both markets.”
Flooding showrooms and auto shows
Prices for Hyundai’s 2023 Ioniq EV sedan — reaching dealerships now — start at $41,600. The aerodynamic sedan boost a range of up to 361 miles — and the ability to charge to 80% in just 18 minutes.
HMG made big news at the recent New York auto show with a pair of EVs and a near-production concept that seems likely to spin off an electric version.
The Kia EV9 aims to channel the design appeal of the brand’s smash hit Telluride SUV when it goes on sale later this year. It’ll be the fourth EV in Kia dealerships, following the subcompact Soul, Niro and EV6. The EV6 won the Free Press and North American SUV of the Year awards this year.
The Hyundai Kona subcompact SUV will keep Hyundai’s U.S. EV offerings at four when sales begin this fall. The first-generation Kona EV helped the small SUV earn 2019 North American and Free Press SUV of the Year honors.
Genesis declined to confirm an electric GV80 coupe production vehicle, but it’d be a surprise if one’s not in the works. Genesis already has three EVs on sale in the U.S. — more than Acura, Cadillac, infinity, Lincoln and Lexus combined. Its vehicles have won consistent praise and numerous awards.
No other volume automaker can match that variety of EVs today, and with HMG’s aggressive investment plan, Kia, Hyundai and Genesis’ lineups will grow fast. Kia, Genesis and Hyundai aim to be selling 31 EVs by 2030. The expansion plan calls for building 2.1 million outside its native Korea, including at multiple assembly plants in North America.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hyundai No. 1? Maybe, based on the this bold EV strategy
