Hyundai Motor to launch six EV models in India by 2028

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. will spend 40 billion rupees ($530 million) on research and development to launch six electric vehicle models in India by 2028, according to Reuters on Wednesday.

Starting next year, Hyundai will roll out the EV versions of its premium and affordable models, including sedans and sports utility vehicles.

They will be built either on its proprietary E-GMP EV platform, or on a modified platform of the existing gasoline cars, the report said.

The second-largest carmaker in India is reviving its push into the EV market in the country, three years after the KONA electric SUV, launched there in 2019, failed to gain widespread appeal due to its high price and the lack of charging stations.

Tarun Garg, Hyundai Motor India's director of sales and marketing, told Reuters that the KONA experience taught the company that it needed to make its EVs affordable, while also providing different charging solutions, including home chargers.

The Indian government plans for EVs to account for 30% of vehicles running in the country by 2030 from less than 1% at present, according to the report. Cities in India are ranked among the most polluted cities in the world.

Globally, EVs are expected to make up a quarter of the automobile market by 2030 from the current 2%.

Last month, Hyundai unveiled an electric variant of the GV70, a premium SUV under its standalone Genesis brand, at a China motor show.

In the same month, the carmaker also showcased SEVEN, an all-electric SUV concept that would be the IONIQ 7, its first large-size SUV under its electric vehicle sub-brand.

Hyundai will officially roll out the IONIQ 7 SUV in 2024, following the launch in February this year of the IONIQ 5, a crossover utility vehicle (CUV), and the IONIQ 6, a mid-size sedan due out in the first half of next year.

Write to Hyung-kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.