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Hyundai working on some sort of secret, single-seat EV

Hyundai's big electric push at the Geneva Motor Show this week was its three-pronged Ioniq line-up. But there will apparently be at least two other electric vehicles coming from the South Korean automaker in the near future, according to Reuters. These vehicles are a single-seat EV and an electric scooter. Neither of these EVs were mentioned in Hyundai's press releases. Neither of these EVs were mentioned in Hyundai's official press releases from Geneva, so details are sparse, but Reuters says that these non-standard vehicles slot nicely into Hyundai's future mobility plans. The Korea Herald says that the automaker is going to invest more in future projects that don't necessarily involve new cars. The idea is to increase the "mobility freedom" for people, according to a presentation from Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Chung Eui-sun during Geneva. Hyundai would not confirm the news of the scooter or the single-seat EV to Reuters and requests for more information from AutoblogGreen were also ignored. When we learn anything official, we will let you know. Given the lack of details, we'll make some educated guesses. Electric scooters are extremely popular in Asia, and we don't think this will stray too far from the two-wheels-and-a-battery model that already works well. As for the one-seat EV, we have to think that Hyundai will take a page from the Renault Twizy or Toyota i-Road, both sleek little electric runabouts that are quirky, sure, but also perfect for running errands in an urban environments. We expect some sort of carsharing program, as well. The official Ioniq vehicles were three powertrains in one body style: a hybrid, PHEV, and pure EV. You can get all the details that we know about these vehicles so far here. Related Video: Related Gallery 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: Geneva 2016 View 14 Photos News Source: The Korea Herald, Reuters Green Hyundai Transportation Alternatives Electric scooter hyundai ioniq ioniq

EV battery prices to stop falling in 2020, Hyundai says

SEOUL — Hyundai believes electric vehicle battery prices will level off by 2020 due to supply constraints of key ingredients, ending years of sharp declines that have helped stimulate activity in the booming sector. Despite its cautious outlook, the South Korean carmaker and smaller affiliate Kia plan to release 38 green models using a variety of technologies by 2025, Hyundai Motor Senior Vice-President Lee Ki-sang said. "Not a single ingredient is going in a positive direction in terms of pricing," Lee, who oversees Hyundai's green car operations, said in remarks to reporters last week that were embargoed until Wednesday. "So far battery prices have been declining at a rapid pace, but the pace will moderate significantly or maintain the status quo by 2020." While rivals have announced ambitious plans for electric vehicles, some analysts say Hyundai has been late to the game. It plans to launch a long-range electric vehicle next year, well behind the likes of General Motors and Tesla. Demand for minerals such as nickel, cobalt and lithium used in electric car batteries is forecast to soar in the coming years as governments crack down on vehicle pollution and carmakers step up their investments in electric models. Batteries are the most expensive part of electric vehicles, and their affordability is key to the take-up of the technology. Lithium-ion battery cell prices fell about 60 percent in the five years to 2016 as larger-scale production made them cheaper to make. In September, Reuters reported that Volkswagen was moving to secure long-term supplies of cobalt for the group's electric vehicle plans, but its talks with cobalt producers in November ended without a supply deal. Lee said that although Hyundai saw the need to develop batteries in-house, it still relied on outside suppliers due to a lack of economies of scale to secure raw materials. It aimed to release vehicles powered by solid-state lithium batteries by about 2020, promising greater range and safety than existing lithium-ion units. Japanese rival Toyota also has announced a similar schedule for the development of vehicles powered by new, potentially revolutionary solid-state batteries. In addition to hybrids and battery-powered vehicles, Hyundai was "coordinating" with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over hydrogen cars propelled by electricity generated from fuel cells, Lee added.

Hyundai exec admits company studying pickup, no foolin'

Automotive News reports Hyundai may be considering jumping into the US pickup market. Lee In-cheol, ice president of international sales, says the company's product planners and engineers are currently trying to determine what size pickup would be best for our market. Currently, the automaker has no plans to build a truck, but Lee says that hasn't stopped US dealers from asking the company to produce one. The US and South Korea signed a free trade agreement that took effect in 2012 that removes the so-called Chicken Tax from South Korean imports in seven years.
That means that Hyundai or Kia could import a foreign-built truck without incurring the 25 percent tax on the vehicle's value after 2021. Even so, Hyundai isn't committed into jumping into the US full-size pickup market. Instead, the company may build a smaller truck designed to compete in emerging markets.
We've been hearing word about Hyundai's pickup musings for years now, including a rumored partnership with Chrysler to produce Ram-based trucks, but so far, nothing has come of it.