South Korean giant automaker, Hyundai Motor Company is reportedly in the process of officially ending development of internal-combustion engines to fully focus on electric powertrains.
According to The Korea Economic Daily, Hyundai Motor Co. which owns the Genesis, Hyundai and Kia brands, has closed the engine development department located at its main R&D center in Hwaseong, South Korea, with staff to be transferred to departments developing electric motors, batteries and semiconductors.
This news is also supported by comments made by Hyundai R&D chief Park Chung-Kook in an employee email seen by The Korea Economic Daily. “Now, it is inevitable to convert into electrification,” he stated. “Our own engine development is a great achievement, but we must change the system to create future innovation based on the great asset from the past.”
The news doesn’t exactly come as a surprise because many automakers have vowed to offer full EV lineups within a decade.
The Hyundai and Kia brands have also announced plans to launch a number of electric vehicles in the coming years. Hyundai, for examples, already offers the Ioniq Electric, Ioniq 5, and Kona in the U.S., and in the near future will add an Ioniq 6 electric sedan and Ioniq 7 electric large crossover. Kia will also be launching its own versions as already seen with the Kia EV6 which looks identical to the Ioniq 5.
Hyundai Motor Co. is allocating resources for development of hydrogen infrastructure as well, and part of this will be used to advance hydrogen fueling and hydrogen-electric powertrains for transport trucks.
