The Writing on the Wall

Can you see the writing on the wall? this has always been a bit of a baffling statement that simply means you can see what is about to come based on current events. For the automotive world that turn of events or the writing on the wall happens to be in the form of electrified and hybrid vehicles. More manufacturers are working toward hybridization in their lineup than ever before and give their hybrid vehicles the power and performance we want. No longer are hybrid vehicles just for better fuel mileage, these vehicles are now showing us they can be more powerful when the right application of hybrid power is applied.

In an effort to not only make a bold statement but to have a massive expansion into the hybrid vehicle market Hyundai-Kia has announced its going to expand to offer us at least 26 hybrid, plug-in, hydrogen fuel cell or fully electric vehicles by 2020. That’s not even a full four years from now and when you consider most of the time the automotive year begins in October that’s an even shorter time. If they are successful in this venture they will be the second largest producer of vehicles that are in this category with only Toyota leading the way.

The expectation is for Hyundai-Kia to offer us twelve hybrids, six plug-in hybrids, two EVs and two fuel-cell vehicles. That only makes 22 models, but with the expansion of their lineup you can be certain they will find a way to create four more models that can enjoy the benefits of being a hybrid version of itself. Once this happens it will be much easier for us to see that these are the types of vehicles the entire market is headed toward to be excellent on the road and quiet to drive.

What we expect to see is Hyundai offering the Sonata Hybrid, Sonata Plug-in, Ioniq Hybrid, Ioniq Plug-in, Ioniq Electric, Grandeur Hybrid, Tucson FCV while at Kia we will have the Optima Hybrid, Optima Plug-in, Soul EV, Cadenza Hybrid and Niro Hybrid. There will be more to come to reach the level of offering 26, but this will be a great place to start. This doesn’t even include the Genesis models which certainly will have some version of hybrid or electrification added to the new luxury brand that was just recently launched by Hyundai.

The production numbers expected for this process should be close to 300,000 by 2020 which is a huge increase compared to the 70,000 that were sold in 2015. That is still a far cry from where Toyota is as they sold nearly 1.2 million hybrids and plug-in vehicles in 2015, which just goes to show how much Toyota has distanced themselves in this particular race. Of course, if you take Toyota out of the equation, Hyundai-Kia will be the largest manufacturer of hybrid models in the world by 2020 and will be able to offer us a complete lineup with more fuel efficient and cleaner burning vehicles for us to choose from.