Hyundai Motor Company has unveiled its new mid- to long-term strategy, the ‘Hyundai Way’ during the 2024 CEO Investor Day.
At the event, the company disclosed its commitment to enhancing its electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid competitiveness, advancing its battery and autonomous vehicle technologies, and expanding its vision as an energy mobilizer, responding to the market environment flexibly with its dynamic capabilities.
“Under the Hyundai Way, we will respond to the market with agility thanks to Hyundai’s unique flexible response system. This will secure sustainable leadership in an uncertain market environment and strategically position the company to create a future centered on mobility and energy,” said Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “Hyundai will strengthen its position as a game changer by expanding beyond vehicle manufacturing to various forms of mobility. By enhancing the role of energy business operators and realizing a hydrogen society, we intend to transform into a company that can maintain global top-tier leadership in the era of energy transition.”
Implementing a full hybrid lineup expansion and next-generation TMED-II hybrid system: Hyundai Motor has been at the forefront of the hybrid market for years with its proprietary TMED hybrid system. The company intends to leverage its expertise to further bolster its position in the hybrid market under its new Hyundai Dynamic Capabilities strategy, a flexible response to the market based on core capabilities.
Under this strategy, the company will expand the application of its hybrid system beyond compact and midsize cars to small, large and luxury vehicles, effectively doubling its current range from seven to 14 models. This expansion will encompass not only Hyundai vehicles but also its luxury brand, Genesis, which will offer a hybrid option for all models, excluding those that are exclusively electric.
Rolling out a full EV lineup expansion and new EREV: In response to the recent slowdown in EV demand, Hyundai Motor is developing a new EREV under its Hyundai Dynamic Capabilities strategy. The new EREV will combine the advantages of internal combustion engines (ICE) and EVs. Hyundai Motor has developed a unique new powertrain and power electronics (PT/PE) system to enable four-wheel drive with the application of two motors. The operation is powered solely by electricity, similar to EVs, with the engine being used only for battery charging.
The new EREV maximizes the use of the existing engine to improve customer appeal and secure cost competitiveness with similar EVs by reducing high-cost battery capacity. It provides EREV customers with a responsive EV-like driving experience, allowing consumers to naturally transition to EVs during future demand recovery periods. The new EREV also offers price competitiveness over EVs through battery capacity optimization and allows both refueling and stress-free charging while offering a superior driving range of over 900 km when fully charged. This vehicle serves as a key bridge to electrification.
“In the electrification era, Hyundai has distinguished itself by rapidly launching a comprehensive lineup of EVs, catering not only to mass-market brands but also to the luxury and high-performance segments,” said President Chang. “Building on our advanced technology and dedication to innovation, we aim to secure a leading position in the market as the adoption of electrified vehicles gains momentum.”
Growing sales through increased production and diversifying businesses and services: Hyundai Motor is making significant strides in its quest to become a global top-tier player in the EV market. By 2030, Hyundai Motor aims to add 1 million units of production capacity to sell 5.55 million vehicles globally. The company plans to lead the automotive industry while expanding into new business and service areas. As part of this plan, Hyundai Motor is targeting sales of 2 million EVs by 2030, further cementing its global EV leadership.
To achieve its sales targets, Hyundai Motor will open the aforementioned HMGMA ahead of schedule in 2024 and a dedicated EV factory in Ulsan by 2026, adding a production capacity of 500,000 units.
To bolster its presence in rapidly growing emerging markets, Hyundai Motor has acquired the Pune factory in India, enabling the establishment of a production system capable of producing 1 million units. Also, the company plans to maximize the utilization of its facilities in China and Indonesia while actively expanding its market share through its CKD (Complete Knock-Down) business across the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and other regions.
Strengthening battery competitiveness through technology diversity, safety and quality: Hyundai Motor is planning to secure battery technology differentiation, strengthen battery competitiveness, and advance battery safety technologies under its Hyundai Dynamic Capabilities strategy to become the only OEM in the world with a full battery lineup across multiple powertrains.
The battery, a crucial safety component in EVs, constitutes the largest portion of EV costs and greatly influences cost competitiveness. As the only global automaker with a full battery system lineup, Hyundai Motor is dedicated not only to improving battery performance but also to ensuring that EVs are affordable, safe and easy to maintain. This commitment is rooted in the company’s inherent capability for battery development. The company continuously works to enhance battery cell competitiveness and safety technology, aiming to deliver maximum customer value and internalize battery development capabilities.
Mobility Game Changer: Hyundai Motor’s software-centric shift and SDV Pace Car: In the second part of the Hyundai Way, the Mobility Game Changer strategy outlines Hyundai Motor’s software (SW)-centric transition strategy. The company is continuously enhancing its products and services based on SW and AI. It focuses on the development of Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs), including an SDV Pace Car, and new mobility businesses, leading the transformation in the mobility ecosystem.
Hyundai Motor is transitioning to a development system for SDVs by incorporating software development methods into vehicle development. The core of SDV development includes the creation of hardware devices that can collect a variety of data from inside and outside the vehicle, and the ability to control the overall vehicle interface based on software. The company aims to connect SDV devices with fleets, logistics and urban transportation infrastructure, building a data infrastructure that can generate, collect, and utilize large amounts of data in various fields.
Utilizing AI and digital twin technology, Hyundai Motor will efficiently manage the real-time operation status of various mobilities and traffic conditions. The company will continuously enhance cybersecurity technology to develop safer and more reliable connected services.
Hyundai Motor to launch Autonomous Vehicle Foundry Business: Hyundai Motor plans to launch a foundry business that will sell autonomous vehicles to various global autonomous driving software technology companies. This new venture will leverage the company’s hardware development capabilities and manufacturing competitiveness, building on its experience in developing autonomous vehicles through collaboration with Motional and expanding cooperation with global autonomous driving leaders.
Safety is a top priority in Hyundai Motor’s development of autonomous driving technology. The company is establishing a system that collects autonomous driving data and continuously trains the AI model simultaneously. As the volume of data increases, Hyundai Motor will be able to implement safer and superior autonomous driving technology. A key element in the development of safe autonomous driving technology is the creation of a computing system that can safely control autonomous vehicles in any situation. To this end, Hyundai Motor is developing autonomous driving computing hardware that ensures stability and reliability, including functional safety and redundancy.
The company is concentrating on developing an end-to-end deep learning model that performs perception, judgment, and control all at once. This model is planned to be expanded and applied as a scalable global solution from Level 2+ to Level 4. Hyundai Motor is also continuously strengthening its internal capabilities for the internalization of the development of key elements of autonomous driving, striving to provide a safer and better customer experience for both drivers and pedestrians.
Hyundai Motor has been integrating all the technologies that go into cars, from autonomous driving to smart factories, into a single software platform to accelerate vehicle software innovation. The company is continuously enhancing SDVs step by step and is continuously improving vehicle quality and marketability by equipping vehicles with controller OTA functions.
Energy Mobilizer: A pioneering leap into a sustainable energy future with hydrogen: Through its hydrogen value chain business brand, HTWO, Hyundai Motor plans to expand its fuel cell system lineup to cater to different needs, covering wider applications such as trams/trains, advanced air mobility, heavy equipment, sea vessels and more. Some of the contributing growth factors include rising demand for clean hydrogen in hard-to-abate sectors including oil, cement and steel, as well as increasing utilization in long-range transportation, such as ships and airplanes.
