Hyundai not giving up on internal combustion engines yet

Despite a move by many brands to phase out internal combustion technology, Hyundai is committed to continual ICE development alongside full electric and hydrogen tech.

Speaking to CarExpert at the recent N Vision 74 and RN22e prototype drive, executive technical advisor Albert Biermann said that some parts of the world aren’t ready for electric vehicle technology yet.

“We are continuing for next emission levels [in internal combustion development]. We have no other choices. I mean, we are not giving up on combustion engines, right, we are global player,” he said.

“And there is no infrastructure available for EVs for quite some time in several regions.”

Mr Biermann wouldn’t be drawn on whether Hyundai would invest in a brand new internal combustion engine family or whether it would refine what it already had.

“So we keep going with combustion engines but will we set up a whole new combustion engine family? Yeah, I mean, you have to follow the emission regulations and that requires sometimes intense development. Euro 7, for example, is quite challenging. So that’s on the agenda.”

Euro 7 emission standards are expected to come into effect from 2025.

While the final version of these standards is yet to be agreed upon, there are three streams currently being considered. Each is expected to bring with it a varying extra level of cost to car buyers as a consequence of adoption.

The first option would be a narrowing of the existing Euro 6 emission standards, a second option would be a far wider revision of the Euro 6 standards, while a more extreme third option would see “real-world emission monitoring over the entire lifetime of a vehicle.”