Hyundai product strategy includes a mix of powertrains

Hyundai is committed to an electric future, but it will not abandon consumers who are slower to adopt the expensive and still-developing electric vehicle technology.

Gasoline-powered vehicles are a crucial part of the South Korean automaker's plan to transform into a leading EV maker, said Olabisi Boyle, senior vice president of product planning and mobility strategy for Hyundai Motor North America.

"We want to make sure our strategy addresses the near term, and that includes fuel-efficient [internal combustion] engines, plug-in hybrids and gasoline-electric hybrids," she said.

The infrastructure for EVs has not yet caught up to current vehicle production and the mass market has not embraced the technology, she added. "We need to have choices for everybody."

Hyundai has already launched a significant lineup of EVs, including the Ioniq 5 compact crossover, the Ioniq 6 compact sedan and the Kona Electric subcompact crossover.

Boyle said the automaker is very confident in its current EV portfolio, and with its strategy going forward. By 2030, Hyundai Motor plans to have 11 global electric models.

Next up for the U.S. is the three-row Ioniq 9, formerly the Ioniq 7, although Hyundai has not confirmed the name change. The kid-hauler follows in the footsteps of the Kia EV9 and shares its electric architecture.

Kia and Hyundai are both owned by Hyundai Motor Group but operate as separate companies.

The EPA has eased tailpipe requirements that called for EVs to account for 67 percent of new-vehicle sales by 2032. Its new target is for battery-electric vehicles to account for 30 to 56 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales in the 2030 to 2032 model years.

Hyundai has pledged to follow the EPA's guidance. Boyle said the company anticipates EV sales will land between 45 and 55 percent by 2030.

The EPA also is calling for a 50 percent reduction in average emission target levels from the 2026 model year and acknowledges automakers will be able to get there by continuing to offer a range of vehicle types.

"We need to keep up with the [requirements], but we also need to meet the customer where they are. And so we needed a strategy that was going to address both," Boyle said.

"That means having a diversity of offerings, including more fuel-efficient ICE vehicles, hybrids and PHEVs," she said. "Eventually, those will go away as we move towards all EV."

Boyle said Hyundai began plotting its "dual-pronged" strategy three or four years ago.

"Some companies are now saying they are going to move completely away from EV or that they are going to slow down," she said. Hyundai wanted to avoid that.

The redesigned 2024 Santa Fe midsize crossover is part of the blueprint. It offers two turbocharged powertrains — a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 277 hp and a 1.6-liter four-cylinder hybrid with 178 hp.

The outgoing Santa Fe had a PHEV offering, but the new iteration does not. Boyle said it is more strategic to offer a PHEV as part of the Tucson compact crossover lineup.

"We wanted to focus plug-in hybrid on our higher volume segment, and it allows us to bring it to the consumer at a lower price point," she said.

Last year, Tucson logged sales of 209,624 vehicles and accounted for more than a quarter of Hyundai's total sales.

"It's critical where you strategically put PHEVs and HEVs in the near term, and maybe we can make advancements — perhaps in PHEVs, getting the all-electric range from 30 miles to maybe 100," Boyle said.

"We see that as an opportunity that can really help in the future."