Hyundai is setting out on an ambitious mission to become the world's number two maker of hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles by 2020, according to a report from The Detroit Bureau.
The electrified vehicles will be split across the Hyundai and Kia model lines, and will begin with the arrival later this year of the Hyundai Ioniq, a compact that will be sold in hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric variants. Kia's Niro, a crossover that debuted a few weeks ago at the Chicago auto show, will share the Ioniq's platform and come with hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
In that article, Hyundai exec Byung Ki Ahn alludes to a corporate desire to make the number one spot, but says the company is being realistic about Toyota's stranglehold on that top rung of the ladder.
By the time 2020 rolls around, Ki Ahn says Hyundai and Kia's 26 electric models will include 10 hybrids, eight plug-in hybrids, a half-dozen pure electrics and a pair of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the majority of which he says will likely come to North America. In the nearer term, the company aims to have at least one electric vehicle with a range of more than 300 km and a new fuel cell model on the market by 2018.
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