Hyundai Phasing Out Gas Vehicles in Favor of EVs

Reuters is reporting that Hyundai is prepared to stop developing new internal combustion engines. The Korean automaker wants to focus it resources on electric vehicles.

It’s no secret Hyundai wants to be a big player in the EV universe. Hyundai has a goal of selling 1 million EVs worldwide by 2025. That would give it 10% of the global EV market. No information on specific internal combustion engine vehicles has been released yet.

Key to that strategy is the all-new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), a dedicated battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform. The E-GMP is important because it should help Hyundai develop EVs with lower price tags.

Most EVs are currently beyond the average American’s budget. Ford demonstrated this by introducing the Ford F-150 Lightning with a starting price around $40,000 before any tax credits from the U.S. government.

Previously, Hyundai had announced it is no longer developing diesel engines. Sure, that’s not an issue in the United States where it sells no diesel vehicles but it demonstrates the company’s commitment to marshaling resources to gain EV dominance.

Reuters further reports that Hyundai, which together with Kia is one of the world's top 10 auto groups, this “move is particularly important because it has one of the broadest ranges of engine and transmission technologies in the industry. The group will finalize its strategy to switch to all electric models by year’s end.

What do you think? Can Hyundai quickly become a dominant player in the EV space by 2025? Or will Ford be the top seller? Of course, we can’t forget Tesla, which does nothing else but electric vehicles.

Keith Griffin covers Hyundai and Kia at Torque News. He has been writing continuously about cars since 2002. Keith used to be a researcher/writer for US News & World Report, as well as numerous car sites, including Carfax and Car Gurus, and a contributor to The Boston Globe. Most recently, Keith was the managing editor for American Business Media. Follow Keith at @indepthauto on Twitter, on @LinkedIn and on his Indepth Auto Facebook page.