Hyundai will invest 50 billion dollars, especially in electric cars

The manufacturer Hyundai announced on Wednesday an investment of more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026, much of it dedicated to boosting the development and production of electric vehicles.

Together with its subsidiary Kia, the South Korean company is the third largest automotive group in sales worldwide, but is lagging behind in the electric vehicle sector compared to competitors such as the American Tesla or the Chinese BYD.

The group’s goal is to be in the top three in the world in this sector and last year it announced a boost in its production to reach 3.6 million electric models by 2030.

With this 68 trillion won ($50.5 million) investment announced Wednesday, Hyunday wants to “secure future growth drivers in an uncertain business environment through constant change and innovation,” he said.

“The automotive sector, which includes future mobility products, represents (…) 63% of the group’s total investment,” he added.

The plan involves the creation of 80,000 jobs in South Korea and the construction of three new electric vehicle factories to increase domestic production of these models to 1.51 million units in 2030.

The group’s electrification strategy also includes investments in infrastructure, software, battery technology and autonomous driving.

A Greenpeace report published in November said that Hyundai’s increased sales of sports vehicles had neutralized any environmental gains generated by its electric transition.

The NGO stressed that the Hyunday-Kia group had increased sales of SUV models by more than 150% in the last decade.

These types of vehicles, which mix the characteristics of an SUV and a passenger car, emit approximately 12% more carbon dioxide than sedans, the environmental group said.

When that report was published, Hyundai explained that it was expanding its range of “all-electric SUV vehicles” such as the Kia EV6 and EV9.