Euisun Chung, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group—led by billionaire Euisun Chung—announced on Tuesday that the conglomerate will invest $18 billion into its domestic electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing business amid the country’s efforts to lead global EV production.
The conglomerate—which includes Hyundai Motor, sister company Kia and auto-parts affiliate Hyundai Mobis—plans to become one of the world’s top three EV makers by 2030, expanding its domestic EV production to 1.51 million units and global production to 3.64 million units. By that year, Hyundai says its total lineup will include 31 EV models, including those from its sibling brands Kia and Genesis.
“Our focus is to enhance the competitiveness of the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, including research and development, production, and infrastructure,” Kia president and CEO Ho Sung Song said in a statement on behalf of Hyundai Motor. Song added the investment would help Korea become one of the “top three players in the global EV market” by 2030.
The investment by Hyundai, which was overtaken by billionaire Chey Tae-won’s SK Group as the second-largest corporate group in South Korea by asset size last year, will go towards research and development for “next-generation” EVs, including new product lineups, core parts and research facilities. To speed up product development, the automaker plans to unveil a manufacturing platform for each vehicle class, with one for passenger EVs to roll out in 2025.
Last year, Hyundai earmarked $16 billion for its EV manufacturing, and in 2021, announced it would invest $7.4 billion for its expansion into the U.S. by 2025. Building on its existing product portfolio, Kia plans to unveil a new flagship electric SUV this year, followed by Hyundai’s release of its affordable passenger EV line IONIQ next year.
Hyundai’s ambitions align with those of the South Korean government. President Yoon Suk-yeol, who was elected last March following a heated election, vowed on his campaign trail that he would ban internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Speaking at a televised ceremony on Tuesday for the opening of Autoland, Kia’s EV factory on the outskirts of Seoul, Yoon pledged generous subsidies to make the country one of the largest players in “future cars,” aiming to expand Korea’s EV production capacity by five times.
More broadly, South Korea’s push into EVs aligns with the increasing popularity of green transportation among global automakers and governments. A draft EU law would ban new, non-electric vehicles by 2035, and U.S. President Joe Biden wants the U.S. government to stop buying non-electrics by that year. Over 36 million EVs are expected to ship by 2030, according to a report by Gartner in January last year.
Battery manufacturing plays a key role in South Korea’s EV ambitions, and the country boasts three of the world’s five biggest EV battery makers: Chey’s SK, Koo Kwang-mo’s LG and Jay Y. Lee’s Samsung. Speaking to Forbes Asia in an exclusive interview in September, Jee Dong-seob, CEO of SK’s EV battery maker, said the unit will overtake existing players to become the world’s top EV battery producer by 2030.