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Hyundai Motor plans 17 EVs, $16B investment by 2030

SEOUL — South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co said on Wednesday it planned to invest about 95.5 trillion won ($79.21 billion) through 2030, including about 19.4 trillion won ($16.10 billion) towards electric vehicle (EV) related businesses. It also said it plans to introduce 17 EVs in that timeframe, six from Genesis and 11 from the Hyundai brand. Hyundai announced that three of those EVs would be sedans, along with six SUVs, a light commercial vehicle and one new type of model. It will begin sales of the Ioniq 6 later this year, followed by the Ioniq 7 in 2024. Hyundai Motor, which together with affiliate Kia Corp is among the world's top 10 biggest automakers by sales, targets to achieve a 7% market share in the global EV market by 2030, with an annual sales target of 1.87 million vehicles, the automaker said during a virtual investor day. The Seoul-based automaker said it aimed to achieve an operating profit margin of 10% or higher in EV business by 2030. "Hyundai is successfully accelerating its transition to electrification and becoming a global leader in EVs despite a challenging business environment caused by the global chip shortage and ongoing pandemic," Hyundai Motor Chief Executive Officer Jaehoon Chang said. Analysts, however said Hyundai's $16 billion investment in EV business would not be considered an "aggressive" approach compared to its rivals, adding, the investment is easily dwarfed by bigger rivals including Toyota Motor Corp, which plans to invest 8 trillion yen ($69.43 billion) for electrification by 2030. "Hyundai is allocating about 20% of its 95.5 trillion won investment to EV related businesses, which includes building new plants, EV charging stations and strategic alliances with battery manufacturers and the investment amount for EV does not seem too surprising or aggressive," said Eugene Investment & Securities analyst Lee Jae-il. Chang said Hyundai was considering building new dedicated EV production plants without proving details of new factories, including locations and timeline. Analysts said Hyundai would be eying on building dedicated EV factories in the United States, as it considers that as its key EV market. Shares in Hyundai Motor closed down 2.6%, compared to the benchmark KOSPI's 0.2% gain. ($1 = 1,205.2600 won) ($1 = 115.2300 yen) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Rashmi Aich) Related video: This content is hosted by a third party.

Hyundai Kia asked to pay $28.9M in patent infringement case

After years of litigation, Hyundai and Kia have lost their hybrid technology patent infringement case against Paice LLC. The jury ordered the South Korean automakers to pay $28.9 million, but according to Bloomberg, because the violation was allegedly intentional, the judge could triple that amount. The automakers have announced plans to appeal the ruling. Paice's patent dates from 1994 on a piece of tech called the Hyperdrive, and it was a way to seamlessly switch between power from an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. This lawsuit was first filed in 2012 and covered the systems in the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Kia Optima Hybrid. According to Bloomberg, the companies tried to argue that the patent was no longer valid, but the strategy failed. "Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit," the company said in a statement to Autoblog. Paice is certainly no stranger to litigating over the Hyperdrive patent, though. It and Toyota had a similar court battle that lasted years. Eventually, there was a settlement, and the result was Paice getting royalties for each hybrid that the Japanese automaker sold. Similarly, there's a lawsuit pending against Ford over tech in the C-Max, Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ. Hyundai Statement: Hyundai believes that the verdict returned by the jury today in the matter of Paice v. Hyundai Motor Company et al., is not supported by the evidence. Accordingly, Hyundai has requested that the presiding judge enter a judgment in its favor notwithstanding the verdict. Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit.

2014 Hyundai Equus priced from $61,000*

During an event in Ann Arbor, Michigan today, Hyundai officials confirmed that the updated 2014 Equus sedan, which goes on sale this week, will be priced from $61,000, *not including $920 for destination. That price is for the base-level Signature version; the upgraded Ultimate trim will carry a base MSRP of $68,000. Both prices represent a $1,750 increase over the 2013 model.
Hyundai introduced the 2014 Equus at this year's New York Auto Show, and while it hasn't been vastly reworked, there are a few thoughtful updates both inside and out. For starters, there's a restyled grille flanked with standard LED fog lamps, as well as new 19-inch alloy wheels. Inside, Hyundai has fitted a new instrument cluster and center stack, as well as more premium wood trim.
There's more technology inside the Equus, as well. The instrument cluster now benefits from either a 7.0- or 12.3-inch LCD information screen, and there's a 9.2-inch display in the center of the dash. For rear seat passengers, there are dual 9.2-inch monitors, as well as redesigned console controls.