Automotive News Europe - Talk From The Top Supplement - December 2019 - 15

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

TALK FROM THE TOP

the cost of electrification is too high. We
see ourselves as providers of mobility
for all people. In the near term, there is
Plug-in hybrids offer CO2 results of
no chance to have a full-electric vehicle
around 30g/km. Are they a solution?
for 10,000 euros ($11,000). Even a hyAt the moment, plug-in hybrids show very brid powertrain makes the car 3,000 or
low CO2 values thanks to the testing pro- 4,000 euros ($3,300 to $4,400) more
cedure. But in some countries, like the expensive. Therefore, we are not electriNetherlands, incentives for plug-in hybrids fying small segments.
were canceled when the government realized that people never recharged the bat- Not even with a mild hybrid?
tery. They just use the combustion engine, Even this kind of technology is too expenresulting in much higher consumption. sive, and for this kind of car, it doesn't
With the introduction next year of the real- have such a large CO2 effect. So we are
driving emissions (RDE) test, the data will optimizing the combustion engines, addchange for plug-in hybrids because this ing a start/stop mechanism and so on.
Hyundai will push EVs in 2020-21 procedure includes highway driving. When Will the minicar segment disappear in
to reach your CO2 reduction goals. the battery is empty, you face the problem the next five to 10 years as the added
Does that leave you vulnerable by that CO2 values jump dramatically. The costs to reduce CO2 from 95g/km to
idea was that plug-in hybrids would allow
2022 and for the rest of the decade?
you
to go into the city in electric mode and 60g/km CO2 would be too high?
Yes, that's a concern. It's likely that by
use the combustion outside. You already That's an issue, because in 2030 the avthe mid-2020s we will see competition
see it in the figures that plug-in hybrid sales erage CO2 emissions limit will have to
[for EVs] reach the level we see today for
are decreasing due to the removal of incen- be reduced by 37 percent from the curcars with internal combustion engines.
tives in some countries. They are down a rent one - that's a no-go without elecWhat are the pros and cons of a wider two-digit percentage every month, while trification. On the other hand, the hype
hybrid and full-electric cars are still grow- around electrification at the moment
choice of EVs available to buyers?
is driven by legislation, both at the city
ing
very fast.
Well, it would be an opportunity for European customers, and [if there is a Is it too early to commit to plug-in hy- and state level. There is a high risk that
strong uptake] it would allow us to slowly brids as a solution because of all this this [move toward electrification] will
never work out because the infrastruclower prices for electric vehicles. But we uncertainty?
ture
doesn't exist. That means the entire
would still need in Europe 50,000 adIt's a solution in the transition period, society has to change its behavior on
ditional charging stations just to enable particularly for the heavier cars. But you
long-distance driving. We know 80 to still see a dramatic month-by-month de- mobility. Automakers also have a social
responsibility. Minicars and small cars
90 percent of people live in apartments. cline in plug-in hybrid sales.
are the segments where you have the
Do they have parking on the street or in
ANE
the garage? If not, where are they going What new products can we expect to highest demand in Europe.
to recharge? The infrastructure problem see from Hyundai in 2020? Is the new
is critical, and it's unlikely we will have a Tucson imminent?
widely available network in two years. It's Some spy pictures [of the Tucson] have
more likely to take 10 years. Given these already been published. We are renewing
obstacles, it is not possible that full-elec- our product range, so we will have a very
tric vehicles will have a 30 to 40 percent busy 2020. We revealed at this year's
market share, contrary to some forecasts. Frankfurt auto show the new i10, whose
This just won't work.
deliveries will start in January. Then we
will
launch a new or updated model every
Why has Norway achieved this?
two months. Sorry that I can't say more
The structure of living in Norway is different. than that right now.
They have lots of public charging stations
already. People who live in apartments Will the Tucson get a mild-hybrid powhave second houses in the country and re- ertrain like the current one? Will it be
charge during the weekend. And many of more electrified?
them have two cars - one electric and one Our future vehicles will all be more
diesel. In addition, several countries want electrified than what you see with mild
to ban the sale of combustion vehicles hybrids. The exception will be minicars
Hyundai will start deliveries
by 2030 or shortly after. In that case, it's such as the i10. Currently, we don't see
of the new i10 in January.
likely that everyone will keep the car longer, a feasible business case for such vehimaintain it better, so repair shops will see cles [battery-drive small cars] because
Will Hyundai meet its EU CO2 reduction target next year and avoid fines?
Of course. We are preparing to supply electric vehicles in sufficient volume and to deliver them without long delivery times to our
customers. However, everyone has to sell
many more battery-electric vehicles. That
raises some questions: Does the European
market have that many customers who
want to buy a full-electric car? How long
will it take for the national governments
to put in place a strategy to roll out a sufficient number of charging stations? When
will customer be able to get their electricity
with a single card everywhere?

2019

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their business grow. We would move into
an almost old-timer used-car market.

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Automotive News Europe - Talk From The Top Supplement - December 2019

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