AUTONEWS

Hyundai-Kia to use new simplified platform for future EVs

The Hyundai Motor Group is really serious in making electric vehicles (EVs) more viable to the public in the not so distant future. Just recently, the company announced that it partnered up with Canoo, a company that specializes in making EVs and vehicle architectures.
As part of the collaboration, Canoo will provide the Hyundai Motor Group its serivces to develop a full scalable, all-electric platform based on their skateboard design. It will be available to both Hyundai and Kia, and can be used for small-sized EVs, as well as bigger purpose-built vehicles (PBVs).
In the future, Hyundai Motor Group expects that the skateboard design will make for a simplied and standardized development process for Hyundai and Kia's electrified vehicle lineup. Not only that, the two automakers also expect that this will help drive down cost which will be a big help for customers that wish to get an EV from either Hyundai or Kia.
“We were highly impressed by the speed and efficiency in which Canoo developed their innovative EV architecture, making them the perfect engineering partner for us as we transition to become a frontrunner in the future mobility industry,” said Albert Biermann, Head of Research and Development at Hyundai Motor Group. “We will collaborate with Canoo engineers to develop a cost-effective Hyundai platform concept that is autonomous ready and suitable for mass adoption.”
As for Ulrich Kranz, the head of the California-based Canoo, he says it is a real honor for the company to be actually helping Hyundai and Kia explore EV architecture concepts for future models. With their proprietary skateboard architecture, which directly houses the batteries and electric drivetrain, Kranz is confident that they were able to reimagine EV design in a way that challenges traditional ideas.
With Hyundai and Kia set to reorganize as a mobility company, their plan to use a simplified architecture will offset the research and development costs, while also allowing both companies to hasten the design and use of their planned EVs.

Marcus De Guzman