Two Brands on One Platform
The Hyundai Motor Group has been sharing the platforms of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, like the Sonata-K5 and the Tucson-Sportage, but strengthening the competitiveness with different designs and marketing so far. The group is also planning to introduce such a “two brand system” in green cars in the future.
According to industry sources on Nov. 18, Kia Motors plans to develop the platform of fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) and mass produce a FCEV model by 2020, in cooperation with Hyundai Motor.
Hyundai Motor Group said that Kia’s new FCEV model will be produced with its own platform, like the Toyota Mirai. The Hyundai Tucson ix FCEV shared the platform with existing vehicles. Also, Kia Motors plans to build 1,000 units of the new FCEV annually. Hyundai Motor will release its new FCEV model with Kia’s new platform around the same time.
Hyundai Motor Group’s next-generation fuel cell stack, which is currently under development, will be similar in size to a 2.0-liter internal combustion engine and offer 10 percent greater stack performance, despite being around 10 percent lighter and 15 percent lower in volume compared to current generation fuel cell stacks. The result will be a targeted range of 800 km from a single fill-up.
The group confirmed the “2020 fuel efficiency improvement roadmap” in November last year, targeting a 25 percent improvement over its 2014 average fuel efficiency by 2020, and announced to expand green car lineups across all of its models. Two vehicles launched in this context include Hyundai Motor’s first hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) Ionic, tentatively called AE, which is to be launched next month. Also, Kia Motors’ HEV Niro, tentatively called DE, had rendered images recently revealed, and will also be launched as a green car.
With the FCEV development strategy, the Hyundai Motor Group plans to strengthen the two brand system by sharing the platform with all eco-friendly vehicles, such as HEVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and FCEV, and minimize the intervention effects by diversifying models, including sedans and SUVs.