Hyundai Reportedly Stops Making Engines Entirely, Goes Full Speed Into Electric

Despite a setback earlier this year that saw Hyundai recalling 82,000 of its electric cars due to battery fires, it seems the Korean brand has yet to give up its ambitions to be one of the key players in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

Back in February, the automaker faced a loss of US$900 million when it issued the recall, which CNN posited was one of the most expensive in history. An internal investigation found that the cars’ defect battery cells, which were made by fellow Korean counterpart LG, had short circuited. 

Now, leaving the unfortunate incident in the past, Hyundai are moving forward into the electric future at full steam. Recent reports have said the company is shutting down the its internal combustion engines department, in a push to fully focus on its electric car development.

An email sent by the brand’s Head of Research and Development, Park Chung-kook, as translated by Korea Economic Daily, said: “It is inevitable to convert into electrification… our own engine development is a great achievement, but we must change the system to create future innovation based on the great assets from the past.”

According to Input, the 12,000 employees working on combustion engines will be transferred to the EV development team. Soon, Hyundai is planning to transform its powertrain research center into one just for testing EVs.

If anything, the automaker certainly has its work cut out for it. Not only are electric vehicles becoming more popular, it faces increased competition from pioneering brands such as Tesla, Ford, and Rivian in its attempt to carve out a piece of the niche market.

[via Korea Economic Daily, Input and Electrek, cover image via Hyundai USA]