Hyundai aims to build hybrid cars at its US EV plant, with no new investment planned

Hyundai Motor’s global chief operating officer Jose Munoz told a business conference organized by the Financial Times that the world’s No. 3 automaker plans to use its investment in its EV and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia to produce hybrid cars through a joint sale with Kia Corp. Wednesday. “I think we can more or less handle (it) in the current investment…. It’s already a lot,” Munoz said.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia, said it will invest $12.6 billion in new dedicated EV and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia — its largest investment outside of South Korea.

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Munoz’s comments The automaker said last month that it plans to add equipment to make hybrid vehicles at the Georgia plant, which will begin production in the second half of this year.

“Now we’re at this key point where we can decide if we’re going to go all-electric or if we should go for something else. My view here is that we should get something else besides electric,” Munoz said, while adding hybrids to the plant. Asked about Hyundai’s decision.

Automakers and suppliers are adding capacity to build gasoline-electric hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles for the U.S. market, fueling consumer demand for the technology that General Motors and other automakers once planned to phase out in favor of all-electric fleets.

Last month, Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch its first hybrid car in India as early as 2026.

In the first quarter, sales of Hyundai’s hybrid vehicles jumped 17% globally, underscoring growing consumer interest in vehicles that are often more affordable than pure EVs.

Munoz said Hyundai Motor will prepare for “various scenarios,” when asked about the US inflation reduction law – which requires vehicles to be assembled in North America to qualify for EV tax credits – and the potential impact of the upcoming US presidential election on the law. .

The company, the No. 2 EV seller in the United States after Tesla, is closing the EV sales gap on its U.S. rival, though still “far away,” he added.

“At the end of this year in October and (if) we qualify (for the US EV tax credit), we will be able to compete head-to-head under the same conditions as our competitors,” Munoz said.

Date of first publication: 09 May 2024, 07:52 AM IST