Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Yang Woong-chul on Tuesday said the carmaker’s up-and-coming LF Sonata plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be released next year as scheduled, and that they would be reasonably priced as all the major parts were made at home.
“We are in no hurry because we are confident of our technology. Nearly all parts, including the motor, inverter and batteries, will be made here. And this will allow us to have a high competitive edge in price,” Yang told reporters at the automaker’s R&D center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. “And so will the K5.”
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| Hyundai Motor vice chairman Yang Woong-chul |
Yang’s comments were aimed at dispeling market anxiety surrounding South Korea’s largest automaker’s EV development program, and a move to compete globally in the segment, Hyundai insiders said.
Hyundai was initially rumored to be considered a premature release of its LF Sonata Hybrid, and Kia’s K5 Hybrid ― slated for a 2015-2016 launch ― in order to keep up with global automakers’ rush into the PHEV market. Some industry watchers have expressed doubts about the level of domestic technology in EV motor development and production, suggesting that Hyundai may even have to extensively use foreign parts.
“Today, the vice chairman has reassured us that the technology would be mostly indigenous,” a Hyundai official said.
Yang met the reporters when he attended the 2014 R&D IDEA Festival, an event designed to encourage more creative research and development.
At the event, nine prototypes of the future cars were presented, ranging from transformable vehicles to a drone-using navigation and parking system. The grand prize went to an SUV that turns into an open-space camping van with removable couches.
“What we are looking for is nothing big, but small changes that could meet the needs of ordinary customers. These are the terms of future cars for us,” Yang said.
By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)
