May 12, 2023: South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor firm is ramping up its production capabilities to become one of the top three electric vehicle manufacturers by 2030.

The automaker invests heavily in research and development, builds new plants and platforms, and expands EV lines and production capacity.

“We are now developing two more platforms, enabling us to have 18 models by 2030. And we have goals to achieve 2 million [annual] EV sales around 2030,” Hyundai Motor firm’s CEO Jaehoon Chang told Chery Kang.

An EV platform increases future model production and decreases development and manufacturing costs. Its EVs are developed on an advanced bespoke EV platform, the Hyundai Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). The 2021 Ioniq 5 crossover SUV was the initial model in Hyundai’s EV-focused sub-brand Ioniq to be developed on the E-GMP. Hyundai launched the Ioniq 6 sedan model in 2022.

“It is important that we have a dedicated EV platform. Our EV platform, the E-GMP, is a strong permit to ensure the EV’s performance, reliability and usability. I think this is also a powerful enabler for the future,” said Chang.

Hyundai plans to introduce vehicles in 2025 based on its two recent EV platforms, eM and eS, which are anticipated to lead to more efficient vehicle development and significant cost reductions.

Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, nabbed sixth place in SNE Research’s initial EV sales ranking for 2022. It delivered 510,000 EV units last year, up 40.9% from 2021, according to SNE Research. Germany’s Volkswagen and China’s Geely are taking fourth and fifth places, respectively. First place went to China’s BYD, which had 1.87 million units, followed by Tesla, with 1.31 million units.

“Our EBIT growth has been 50% yearly during the previous three years. This is mainly driven by our products, especially Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6, which are well-perceived by the customers,” said Chang.

“We can continue the momentum. We have another EV, Ioniq 7, the largest three-row SUV, in our pipeline for next year. So this is a short-term perspective of what we are doing,” said Chang.