Hyundai:: electrification for more models is inevitable

The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq became the first vehicle in the world to use the same platform for three different types of electrification technology: hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full electric.

This is a good indicator of what technologies the South Korean brand will utilise in its future models. The manager of Hyundai America’s product planning, John Y. Shon, said it’s a sign of things to come.

“I think it's definitely gives a sneak peak into the future of Hyundai vehicles, all of this electrification is something that is going on not just right now but continue to go on even more so,” Shon said.

According to Shon, this is yet another step-change for the industry and will reflect across the board due to tougher emission laws.

“You will see a lot more electrification of our vehicles going forward, whether that’s hybrid or 48V battery, but you’ll definitely see more electrification going forward… electrification is going to happen throughout the industry and model line up, not just for us but for our competitors as well.”

Perhaps most importantly, Hyundai’s electrification technology is highly scalable, which is a sure bet that future models will be built to accommodate the systems from the ground up.

“That’s one of the great things about our transmission mounted electrical device, our hybrid architecture is very scalable… essentially instead of a torque converter in the transmission we have a very powerful electric motor placed there, so from a scalability standpoint we definitely see it can be applied to other models.”

Asked why Hyundai has decided to place bets on all three electrification technologies, as well as fuel cell, Shon said it’s about giving consumers choice.

“The cynical way of looking at it is that we are hedging our bets, the more realistic and truthful answer is that we really want to give customers that choice, what best suits their automotive needs, I see so many customers say I can drive an EV because of range anxiety then we have people buy a plug-in hybrid which gives you that electric range but also the peace of mind knowing that it's just a hybrid car with [more] range.”

The Hyundai Ioniq hybrid is high on the agenda for Hyundai Australia as it seeks to bring the new eco-friendly car to our market in 2017.

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