Hyundai Motor closes engine development division. All development will focus on EV

[wemay]

The Korea Economic Daily Global Edition: Hyundai Motor closes engine development division - KED Global.
https://www.kedglobal.com/newsView/ked202112230013

 

[The Critic]

Hate to say it, but they had trouble building a reliable engine anyway.

 

[fisher83]

I could see them doing well with EV's. Given their long factory warranty I think that could ease some consumers minds if they are leery of newer technology.

 

[tombalas]

Is Hyundai the outlier here? I mean, are any of the major car companies still spending big bucks developing new ICE motors?

 

[KGMtech]

Is Hyundai the outlier here? I mean, are any of the major car companies still spending big bucks developing new ICE motors?

Large truck, earth moving equipment is probably going to be the last segment doing anything with ICE Diesel. However, I could be wrong.

 

[PimTac]

It makes sense. Concentrate on the future along with LG to shift their model lineup to EV

 

[TumblrDucks]

Hyundai haven't use dual injection yet, will they just stick with GDI till ICE is illegal on the road?
What about their Global Engine Alliance?
Well I guess no more MPG improvement from Hyundai in next gen...

 

[PimTac]

Hyundai haven't use dual injection yet, will they just stick with GDI till ICE is illegal on the road?
What about their Global Engine Alliance?
Well I guess no more MPG improvement from Hyundai in next gen...

I thought GEMA died off about ten years or so ago? I’m not sure Hyundai has anything to do with that any longer as they have their own engine manufacturing facilities.

 

[E365]

Smart. Pretty clear now to most manufacturers that building this (the Bolt EV motor AND gearbox)

and a big battery is much faster and easier than these monstrosities.

They can get rid of about 30% of their employees and be much more profitable in the long run.

https://www.autonews.com/automakers...tes-electric-push-more-models-more-production

 

[LazyDog]

In large markets, they probably do OK. What about the rest of the world where electric power is hard to get and not that reliable.

 

[SubLGT]

Large truck, earth moving equipment is probably going to be the last segment doing anything with ICE Diesel. However, I could be wrong.

The mining industry has a goal of moving away from ICE diesel, to battery powered and fuel cell powered mining trucks.

https://www.mining.com/bhp-vale-rio-launch-challenge-to-encourage-haul-truck-electrification/

Three resource giants, BHP (ASX, LON, NYSE: BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO), and Vale (NYSE: VALE), launched on Wednesday the Charge On Innovation Challenge, a global competition for technology innovators to develop new concepts for large-scale haul truck electrification systems with the main goal of cutting emissions from surface mining operations.

“The mining industry needs to be at the forefront of tackling the climate challenge. The Charge On Innovation Challenge is a great example of the current collaborative work being done by the mining industry and mobile equipment manufacturers to decarbonise mining fleets,” the fIrms said in a media statement. “In addition to providing a zero-carbon energy source, the conversion of mobile mining equipment to battery-electric can potentially unlock value, as electric motors have fewer moving parts when compared to standard equipment.”

https://www.eenews.net/articles/the-hard-road-to-electrifying-a-mighty-truck/

The Komatsu 930E is three stories tall and made in Peoria, Ill., at a cost of $5 million each. These “ultra class” vehicles, as they’re known, are the Clydesdales of open-pit mines, hauling almost 300 tons of rock from the dusty depths of the pit to the lip for crushing and processing. The diesel-electric hybrid can burn almost 800 gallons of diesel a day.

But this particular truck, after its transplant, will never again burn diesel. Its engine will be removed and swapped out for this new device coming from Seattle — a fuel-cell power plant that runs on hydrogen.

British mining giant Anglo American PLC owns the truck, and the site: the Mogalakwena mine, a 28-square-mile series of pits that are one of the world’s leading sources of platinum. If the truck does the trick, Anglo American says it will convert many more of the 400 trucks it operates worldwide. It also intends to make the hydrogen fuel at the South African mine, using no inputs other than solar power and dirty water.

No one can know if it will work. Experiments are underway to run trains, ferries and big rig trucks on hydrogen, but no one has used it to power a 557-ton hauler (Gross Weight) in a dusty pit that quakes with explosions.

https://www.komatsu.com/en/products/trucks/electric-drive-mining-trucks/930e-4se/

 

[PandaBear]

In large markets, they probably do OK. What about the rest of the world where electric power is hard to get and not that reliable.

Depends, I'd say most of the world has more reliable electric grid than refinery / oil pipeline.

Regarding to Hyundai, they can always buy engines from other companies and then slap on a hybrid transmission or alternator / inverter / electric motor setup. The market for low end ICE 3rd world vehicles are pretty mature, their domestic Korean market may only need a small range (Korea isn't that big and most economic activities are in Seoul), and they are not that high in reputation in the US / Europe / Australia market for their engine. They can't do too bad buying from someone else outside of Fiat.

 

[Hyundai Respecter]

Hyundai haven't use dual injection yet, will they just stick with GDI till ICE is illegal on the road?
What about their Global Engine Alliance?
Well I guess no more MPG improvement from Hyundai in next gen...

The new 2.5L “Smartstream” that replaced the Theta II has Port and GDI.

The 1.6L (Accent, Rio, Venue) and 2.0L (Elantra, Kona, Forte, Soul, Seltos) is MPI in the non hybrid and non turbo models.

That GEMA ended a while ago, I guess Chrysler purchased it from Hyundai and Mitsubishi.

 

[michaelluscher]

Is Hyundai the outlier here? I mean, are any of the major car companies still spending big bucks developing new ICE motors?

I remember MB making a big fuss a year or two ago saying they've stopped all ICE R&D, they're just gonna coast with what they've got

 

[PimTac]

In large markets, they probably do OK. What about the rest of the world where electric power is hard to get and not that reliable.

Personally I don’t think ICE vehicles will disappear as fast as the disrupters want them to.

 

[rob1715]

Article says "EVs are predicted to dominate the global market before 2030, compared to forecasts made in 2020 that the eco-friendly automobiles had been expected to account for half of new car sales in 2040."

Right now they have about 2% of the market. Someone who will remain nameless (Brandon) says he wants EVs to command 50% of the market by 2030. What about the infrastructure? Charging stations? Can that be accomplished in, now, 8 years? 50% can only happen if gas powered vehicles are forced to be so ungodly expensive that people will have no choice but to buy an EV. They create a problem, then offer the solution.

 

[CharlesInCharge]

The macro-concern here is that most or all new R&D will go toward EV technology and ICE technology will studder and devolve and be a "lost science" - and this is bad for human kind.

We probably have 50 more years of improvements to go on ICE vehicles to make them ultra powerful and ultra efficient. Look at the efficiency and power we have achieved in the last 30 years alone, from anemic gas hogs of the 1970s to incredibly efficient high performance engines of today.

It will be a tragic day when ICE vehicles stop being produced and humans are forced onto EVs because you know every aspect of an EV can and will be controlled by Big Brother.

 

[E365]

Article says "EVs are predicted to dominate the global market before 2030, compared to forecasts made in 2020 that the eco-friendly automobiles had been expected to account for half of new car sales in 2040."

Right now they have about 2% of the market. Someone who will remain nameless (Brandon) says he wants EVs to command 50% of the market by 2030. What about the infrastructure? Charging stations? Can that be accomplished in, now, 8 years? 50% can only happen if gas powered vehicles are forced to be so ungodly expensive that people will have no choice but to buy an EV. They create a problem, then offer the solution.

Incorrect. It’s EV, fuel cell or plug-in hybrid. Not pure EVs.

On the other hand, almost no manufacturers want to build hybrids anymore. They’re stupidly complex and expensive to make. Exactly how they’re starting to feel about gas powered cars. EVs will likely be more profitable to make by 2030 because they’re so simple and fast to manufacture. Manufacturers are largely driving it, not governments. They will make more money with EVs.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing...-leadership-forward-on-clean-cars-and-trucks/

 

[PandaBear]

I remember MB making a big fuss a year or two ago saying they've stopped all ICE R&D, they're just gonna coast with what they've got

Can't blame them when exotic V8 and Supercharge / Turbo can't even compete with a big battery / inverter / electric motor. There is no bragging right left with all those vibration they need to deal with either. No matter how you balance it a crank full of combustion will always have worst NVH than electric motor.

 

[PandaBear]

The macro-concern here is that most or all new R&D will go toward EV technology and ICE technology will studder and devolve and be a "lost science" - and this is bad for human kind.

We probably have 50 more years of improvements to go on ICE vehicles to make them ultra powerful and ultra efficient. Look at the efficiency and power we have achieved in the last 30 years alone, from anemic gas hogs of the 1970s to incredibly efficient high performance engines of today.

It will be a tragic day when ICE vehicles stop being produced and humans are forced onto EVs because you know every aspect of an EV can and will be controlled by Big Brother.

It was a tragic day when human no longer have a bond with their own family horses as well. Do you want everyone to go back to riding and caring horses?

You can say that about horse breeding, caring, jockey-ing, etc. However the future is bad for ICE from the law of thermal dynamics. You can only do so much to get near Carnot limit (especially in the maximum engine size you can do) and you can only do so much to combat local emission law (i.e. no diesel in downtown then a few decades later combustion in downtown). You also see the biggest market (China) is really trying to get off oil as they have not much, relying either on their arch enemy (US) or not too close ally who they have some beef with as well (Russia).

Same for Germany trying to be the halo of all cars combating the NVH in luxury market, or liquid fuel security importing from their arch enemy (Russia), or relying on hostile warzone without commiting big military budget to secure it.

What's left? Coal, nuclear, natural gas, maybe some solar and wind mix in.