Hyundai Motor Group and Normal Motors have joined forces to discover collaboration in automobile growth, provide chain and clear vitality know-how, officers introduced Thursday.
In keeping with the announcement, the highest management from every auto large — together with Hyundai Motor Group Government Chair Chung Euisun and GM CEO Mary Barra — lately met at Genesis Home New York and signed a memorandum of understanding to hunt future collaboration throughout key strategic areas.
Hyundai Motor and GM — the world’s third and fifth largest auto manufacturers by gross sales final yr, respectively — mentioned they’ll search for methods to leverage their complementary scale and strengths to scale back prices and produce a wider vary of autos and applied sciences to clients sooner.
Hyundai Motor and GM offered 7.34 million automobiles and 6.18 million automobiles, respectively, throughout the globe final yr. Their mixed gross sales of about 13.5 million would simply exceed No. 1 Toyota Group’s 11.23 million autos offered.
“This partnership will allow Hyundai Motor and GM to guage alternatives to boost competitiveness in key markets and automobile segments, in addition to drive price efficiencies and supply stronger buyer worth by way of our mixed experience and modern applied sciences,” mentioned Chung.
The automakers famous that potential collaboration initiatives are anticipated to be centered on the co-development and manufacturing of passenger and industrial autos, inside combustion engines and clean-energy in addition to electrical and hydrogen applied sciences.
Barra mentioned this partnership between the 2 firms has the potential to make automobile growth extra environment friendly by driving better scale and supporting disciplined capital allocation.
“GM and Hyundai have complementary strengths and proficient groups,” mentioned the GM CEO. “Our objective is to unlock the size and creativity of each firms to ship much more aggressive autos to clients sooner and extra effectively.”
Hyundai and GM defined that their flexibility and agility will permit each firms to discover the event of their shared capabilities.
The 2 main world authentic gear producers, or OEMs, within the auto trade, added that in addition they will overview alternatives for joint sourcing in areas equivalent to battery uncooked supplies, metal and different areas.
Following the signing of the non-binding MOU, the 2 sides plan to evaluate alternatives and progress towards binding agreements.
As an unprecedented transfer within the world auto trade, the partnership announcement got here at a second when Chinese language EV manufacturers and battery makers equivalent to BYD and CATL are surging as they give the impression of being to develop their presence past their dwelling turf.
In keeping with the information from Yiche, one of many largest car data firms in China, BYD offered 315,600 autos internationally in July this yr to change into the third largest-selling auto model simply behind Toyota and Volkswagen. In the identical month, Hyundai and Kia have been ranked in sixth and ninth locations as they offered 245,900 automobiles and 199,000 automobiles, respectively. GM’s top-selling model — Chevrolet — got here in tenth place by promoting 198,600 automobiles.
Auto trade watchers mentioned the collaboration between Hyundai Motor and GM will put each different main participant within the world auto sector on discover as their partnership might have huge impacts on the panorama of the auto trade, significantly within the EV race.
“A Hyundai Motor-GM alliance would have a number of implications for the US EV trade,” mentioned an automotive engineering professor who wished to not be named.
“Each are competing towards Tesla. They’ve been doing so individually however a partnership between them might imply troubles for auto manufacturers within the US EV race together with Tesla.”
In keeping with market tracker Motor Intelligence, Hyundai Motor accounted for 10 p.c of the US EV market by way of the primary seven months of this yr and GM took up a 6.3 p.c share throughout the identical interval whereas Tesla’s US EV market share dipped beneath 50 p.c for the primary time within the second quarter.
