Hyundai, Kia to join global small EV war with new models

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s top automaker, will aim at the world’s affordable small electric vehicle segments with new models as the market is expected to quickly grow in emerging countries such as India.

Kia Corp., the smaller carmaker in the No. 2 South Korean conglomerate, plans to start mass production of a dedicated electric small crossover utility vehicle (CUV) to be sold as the EV3 and an electric subcompact sport utility vehicle (SUV) to be launched as the EV 4 next year in South Korea, according to industry sources on Thursday.

The company is currently producing the EV6, an electric SUV built on the group’s proprietary Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) while planning to roll out the EV9, its large flagship electric SUV, in the first half of this year.

In addition, Kia agreed with its unionized workers to produce a new all-electric SUV only for China in South Korea from 2025.

Kia’s larger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. is scheduled to manufacture the electrified model of the Casper, a mini SUV, next year through Gwangju Global Motors Co., in which Hyundai has a 19% stake.

Hyundai is also expected to add smaller EVs based on the E-GMP as it is currently selling the compact SUV IONIQ 5 and the mid-sized sedan IONIQ 6 with a plan to launch the large SUV IONIQ 7.

TESLA MODEL 2

Tesla Inc., the global EV leader, may unveil an entry-level EV dubbed the Model 2 on the March 1 Investor Day event., according to foreign media.

The long-awaited affordable model with a starting price of $25,000 is predicted to hit the road in 2025 in the US. It will be equipped with less-expensive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly mentioned the company’s plan to launch a smaller and cheaper model.

Musk said in October last year that the low-end EV was already in development with an aim to cut production costs by half from the Model 3.

Other global automakers are rushing to develop smaller EVs to capture the segment with strong growth potential, especially in emerging markets where most consumers can afford only low-cost models.

Customers have already been focusing more on cost-effectiveness than mileage and charging speed, key factors that have been driving EV sales.

Those low-end EVs are expected to help automakers weather weakening demand when the economy slows.

Write to Hyung-Kyu KIm and Il-Gue Kim at khk@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.