Marriage of convenience: GM and Hyundai bed one another to make EV babies
General Motors and Hyundai have inked a far-reaching deal that will see both car-making giants collaborate on everything from supply chains to creating clean-energy technologies and even jointly developing vehicles.
Motivating both to work together is the possibility of sharing the cost of expensive EV technology, pooling resources while increasing economies in a move that is said will “bring a wider range of vehicles and technologies to customers faster”.
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In the signed memorandum of understanding there was no definition of ‘future clean energy technologies’ but the pair did confirm that it would work together to develop electric, hydrogen powertrains as well a next-gen combustion engines that will be used in future plug-in hybrids.
The deal will also reportedly help both car-makers ramp up the electric vehicle production by teaming up to source raw materials for batteries and the steel needed for production.
GM’s latest joint venture follows an earlier ill-fated arrangement with Honda that was originally formed back April 2022 to work together to create a family of affordable EVs. That relationship soon broke down and was scrapped in October 2023 over undisclosed reasons.
It’s thought collaboration and sharing the billions involved in a car’s development is the only way legacy-makers like GM and Hyundai can catch-up with the likes of Tesla for EVs and combat the arrival of Chinese rivals.
“Our goal is to unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently,” said GM CEO Mary Barra.
