Hyundai Motor to introduce an EV platform

SEOUL, Sec 02 (Reuters): South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform early next year that will use its own battery technology to cut production time and costs.

The plan underscores efforts by the world's No.5 auto group to become a major player in the global EV market, as car makers around the world are pouring billions of dollars of investment to improve battery technology, which keeps EV prices high compared with combustion engine models.

Market leader Tesla said in September it aims to halve the cost of its EV batteries and bring more production of the key auto component in-house to lower EV prices to $25,000 each.

Hyundai expects its dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) will allow it to use its own battery module technology across various EV models and cut the number of components by 60 per cent.