Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor, "2026 Electric Vehicle Target 1.7 Million Units... US Investment Focused on Electric Vehicles"

Expansion to 13 Electric Vehicle Models by 2026
Development of New Electric Vehicle Platforms Beyond E-GMP

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Hyundai Motor Group has raised its annual electric vehicle (EV) sales targets to 220,000 units next year and 1.7 million units by 2026. To achieve this, most investments, including the expansion of its U.S. factories, will be focused on the EV sector.

On the 20th (local time), Hyundai Motor President Jang Jae-hoon said in an interview with the U.S. automotive magazine Automotive News, "Hyundai Motor Group has revised its EV sales target from 1 million units in 2026 to 1.7 million units," adding, "This figure combines Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis." Previously, Hyundai and Kia announced plans to sell 560,000 EVs by 2025 and 500,000 EVs by 2026, respectively.

President Jang explained the reason for raising the sales target by saying, "Next year, we expect to sell 220,000 Hyundai and Genesis EVs worldwide, which is about 56% higher than this year's projected sales."

He added, "Hyundai's EV lineup will also expand to 13 models," and "We plan to introduce a new (EV) platform. Developing a new platform shows our confidence; we are not focusing on just one platform." This is interpreted as Hyundai planning to develop an additional dedicated EV platform separate from the E-GMP platform used in the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Genesis GV60, to increase the variety and production volume of EVs.

President Jang also emphasized, "In line with U.S. President Joe Biden's (eco-friendly) policies, I believe that by 2030, 50% of Hyundai's total sales should come from EVs," and "We are shortening product development schedules to have more EVs."

Regarding Hyundai Motor Group's investment of $7.4 billion (approximately 8 trillion KRW) in the U.S. by 2025, President Jang said, "We plan to strengthen production capacity in the U.S., and detailed plans will be announced next year," adding, "We are focusing on expanding EV production."

He continued, "We are cooperating not only with U.S.-based SolidEnergy Systems (SES) but also with Korean battery manufacturers, as they are globally competitive," explaining, "Both lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries are under research and development." Hyundai is collaborating with SES, a U.S. lithium-metal battery developer, to develop next-generation solid-state batteries.

President Jang particularly stressed that Hyundai Motor Group will not develop new internal combustion engines to achieve carbon neutrality. He stated, "We will comply with the European Union's emission regulations. That does not necessarily mean developing a completely new engine. We also have hybrid vehicles as a temporary solution."

Furthermore, he drew a clear line regarding earlier speculation about cooperation with Apple on the Apple Car. When asked if Hyundai is considering contract manufacturing EVs for other companies, President Jang replied, "Hyundai's (EV production) capacity is for internal demand," adding, "We need to maximize the use of our production capacity for ourselves."

Regarding the semiconductor supply shortage, he said, "The shortage of automotive semiconductors is expected to continue until the first half of next year," and "We are seeking solutions through collaboration with our partner groups internally and analyzing supply trends."

On expanding sales of Hyundai's premium brand Genesis, he said, "Genesis is expected to achieve about 200,000 units sold globally," emphasizing, "SUVs and the luxury/premium segments are new challenges for us, but that is the path we must take."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.