Hyundai Motor shares jump on new plans for electric cars 

The Hyundai Ioniq electric car is the mode of transport for the Minister for Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton.

Hyundai Motor shares jumped to their highest price since May 2018, after the carmaker said it would create a family of Ioniq-brand electric vehicles (EV) as it aims to become the third-largest EV maker by 2025.

Hyundai said the elevation of Ioniq from individual vehicle nameplate to a brand will support its goal of capturing 10% of global EV sales within five years.

Other car shares also rose, with affiliate automaker Kia Motors and parts suppliers Hyundai Mobis and Mando also climbing. 

“With the launch of a new EV family brand, shares of Hyundai Motor are rallying today, reflecting investors’ hope that the auto industry will outperform compared to other industries,” said analyst Kwon Soon-woo at SK Securities.

Trevor Milton, chief executive of EV startup Nikola, said he would like to cooperate with Hyundai. 

Hyundai Group chief Euisun Chung last month said Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors aim to sell 1 million battery-driven electric vehicles in 2025, together targeting more than 10% of the global market share for such vehicles.

Hyundai said that starting in early 2021, it would introduce three all-electric models under the Ioniq brand.

They include the Ioniq 5, a midsize crossover based on the 2019 Hyundai 45 concept; in 2022, the Ioniq 6 sedan, based on the Hyundai Prophecy concept unveiled earlier this year; and in early 2024, the Ioniq 7, a large crossover.

Meanwhile, Chinese carmaker Geely plans to use a platform developed with input from Volvo to build new models in Malaysia for its partly owned Proton brand, a strategy that shows how it aims to accelerate its push to become China’s first global auto giant.

The yet-to-be-finalised plans for Proton are just one strand of a Geely project to revamp factories at home and abroad using joint platforms it has been perfecting with Volvo since 2013. 

Geely bought the Swedish brand 10 years ago for $1.8bn - a deal that raised its international profile and sent shockwaves through the global auto trade.

Senior Geely officials and engineers said a project dubbed Compact Modular Architecture will allow them to develop, design and build different types of compact cars with similar mechanical layout faster than before - and at lower cost. 

- Reuters