You can now add Hyundai to a growing list of automakers, including Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, General Motors and VW Group, that are shutting down development of internal combustion engines. The company announced they too, are shifting their focus to an all electric future.
The Korean company has been developing ICE engines to use in its lineup of cars for 40 years.
The Korean Economic Daily is reporting Hyundai’s new research and development chief confirmed in an email to employees they are shutting down new engine development. He called the move “inevitable.”
“Our own engine development is a great achievement, but we must change the system to create future innovation based on the great asset from the past,” Park Chung-kook, Hyundai’s R&D Chief wrote. He also said the immediate task should be to develop vehicles that can “dominate” the future market.
This reorganization will be an important starting point for change ahead in the new year,” Chung-kook said.
In the past, Hyundai had remained quiet about a commitment to fully electric vehicles. The automaker is still heavily invested in hydrogen fuel cells, but it’s beginning to find success in the electric market with the release of the Ioniq 5.
The company is expected to launch a full lineup of Ioniq battery-electric vehicles as Hyundai continues to invest in the technology.
Now, this doesn’t mean the internal combustion engine is going away anytime soon. Currently, electric vehicles have a mark share of less than 4 per cent in 2020. That number is expected to continue to grow every year and be between 40 and 50 per cent by 2030. However, this does show that the times may indeed be changing.