SEOUL – Hyundai Motor said Tuesday it will launch four electric vehicle models this year, after it emerged earlier this month that it is in talks with Apple and other companies to develop self-driving EVs.
South Korea’s largest automaker, which reported strong earnings in the fourth quarter of the same day, said it will add four EV models to its lineup in 2021, including one in China and another in Europe. Hyundai sold 100,000 electric cars last year, up 55% from a year ago, giving it a 5% share of the global market.
“In China, we will launch the Mistra EV, and at the end of March, we will launch the Ioniq 5 in Europe,” Koo Zayong, vice president of Hyundai, said in an employment call.
The Ioniq 5 is the first vehicle to use Hyundai’s electro-electric modular platform, a system made exclusively for next-generation battery EVs and a key part of the company’s “clean move” strategy.
Hyundai said it will focus primarily on its advanced operations, including electric vehicles, urban air movement, robots and fuel cell systems. “In particular, the company intends to consolidate the market leadership of EV with their first special EV model, the Ioniq 5,” the company said.
The comments come just weeks after Hyundai said it is in talks with Apple and other companies to develop self-driving EVs, though the company later clarified that talks are at an early stage.
Analysts say Hyundai’s ultimate goal is to operate its own fully-fledged mobile services business, rather than just providing Apple and other tech companies looking for a break-in. to the car manufacturing industry.
“It’s the perfect scenario. Hyundai wants to develop its own artificial intelligence capabilities, based on data collected from its cars,” said Kim Joon-sung, an analyst at Meritz Securities. “For this, Hyundai Motor will lead the group’s technology investment and development, while its sister company, Kia Motors, will play the role of an equipment supplier, collaborating with technical companies.”
Hyundai said its operating profit jumped 40.9% to 1.6 trillion won ($ 1.4 billion) in the fourth quarter from a year ago, led by the company’s sports utility vehicles and Genesis luxury models. Sales rose 5.1% to 29.2 trillion won in the same period.
“Strong sales of Genesis models and Genesis luxury models, as well as a declining stimulus, helped build revenue in the fourth quarter despite a poor economic environment and an unfavorable exchange rate,” Hyundai said “Retail sales and the expansion of market share in North America, India and Russia also contributed to higher revenues.”
The company expects to earn an end-of-year share of 3,000 per share for 2020, the same as 2019. Hyundai said it aims to sell 4.16 million cars this year, up from 3.75 million a year earlier , with 4% to 5% Operating Profit Margin.
In 2020, Hyundai’s operating profit fell 22.9% to 2.8 trillion earned, with revenue declining 1.7% to 104 trillion earned. The company’s net profit slipped 33.5% to 2.1 trillion.
Shares in the automaker fell 3.3% to 251,500 won on Tuesday, while Kospi’s benchmark index fell 2.1% to 3,140. 31.