Hyundai bets on e-cars, Honda doesn't trust them

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Hyundai bets on e-cars, Honda doesn't trust them

By 2025, Hyundai Motor Group will offer 25 clean electric cars, while Honda chief believes hybrids are the key to the future, not e-cars.

 

 

Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis) begins the new year with a bold announcement related to the next five years: the Korean concern will invest € 76 billion in electrification of its entire model range.

The plan envisages an almost double increase in the model range of electrified vehicles from 24 models in 2019 to 44 in 2025. More interestingly, the main growth will come from purely electric models since the number of battery-powered cars (BEVs) does not it will only increase from 9 to 23 (14 of the 20 planned electrified models will be BEV), but also because 11 of them will be new electric models.

The first specially designed BEV model will be launched in 2021, which will be built on the all-new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

Currently, the concern has one model of fuel cells (hydrogen), and by 2025 the range will be increased by another. But interest in this direction is not limited to cars. Koreans are relying heavily on fuel cells for various modes of transport, with the Group setting up an enterprise with the capacity to produce up to 500,000 FCEV units in South Korea.

At the other pole is the situation in Honda. Takahiro Hachigo, Honda CEO, also believes in electrifying the model range. The difference is that he believes that hybrids, not pure electric cars, will play a key role in the company's future.

The Japanese manufacturer intends that by 2030 the share of hybrids will account for 2/3 of total global sales. In an interview with Automotive News, he said: "I believe that hybrid cars will play a major role. The goal is to improve fuel consumption, not just electrification. We believe that hybrid cars are the way to respond to different environmental regulations. "

When asked what he thinks of electric cars, Hachigo replies: "Are there really customers who really want them? I'm not sure because there are infrastructure and hardware issues. I do not think there will be a dramatic increase in the demand for clean electric vehicles, I believe that this situation is global. We need to continue with R&D, but I don't think they will become a mass phenomenon any time soon. "