Everything we know about Hyundai and Kia’s new electric vehicle platform

It would be inaccurate to describe the Korean auto industry as pulling all cylinders, if only because it is also very good at making electric vehicles, and these don’t have cylinders that pull. Electric versions of the Hyundai Kona, Kia Soul and Kia Niro are about the only battery-electric vehicles to come close to the range efficiency of the class-leading Tesla.

On Tuesday, Hyundai Motor Group (which owns Hyundai and Kia, as well as Genesis) showed us the sequel. It’s called E-GMP, and it’s the group’s new modular BEV platform for larger vehicles (analogous to the Volkswagen Group PPE architecture). Hyundai Motor Group has big plans for E-GMP – one million vehicles spread over 23 new models by 2025, the first two showrooms will arrive in 2021.

The technical specifications are just as impressive: a fully 800V electrical architecture; bidirectional charging; Quick charge DC to 80% in 18 minutes; and a WLTP range of 500 km (310 miles).

The platform is designed to build either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive BEVs, with the battery pack sandwiched between the axles. It’s highly modular, which means that different brands can use it to create everything from sleek sedans like the production version of the Prophecy Concept (which will be called Ioniq 6, due in 2022) to seven-seater SUVs (l ‘Ioniq 7, due by 2024).

In drive units, the oil-cooled motor-generator uses hairpin windings (like those in Porsche Taycan engines), resulting in more efficient coils with less empty space. The transmission is built into the unit, as is the inverter, which uses more efficient silicon carbide semiconductors that increase range by about five percent.

The main drive unit looks quite compact, and Hyundai says it is capable of turning 70% faster and using a 33% higher differential ratio, giving it much more torque density. higher than its current electric motor. When configured for all-wheel drive, the front-wheel drive unit is equipped with a transmission disconnect switch that can completely decouple this drive unit from the axle for better efficiency when needed.

The company is not yet ready to talk about kW or Nm, although we should expect performance BEVs of around 447 kW (600 hp) in the high-end, according to Albert Biermann, head of the division. Hyundai Motor Group R&D.

The battery pack uses standardized modules made up of individual pocket cells, with the number of modules depending on the needs of each vehicle. Lithium-ion cells will continue to use nickel-magnesium-cobalt chemistry, at least until other cell chemistries prove superior.

The E-GMP pack sounds like a much simpler design than the group’s current battery packs, with 40% fewer part types and 60% fewer parts overall. This makes the pack more compact, which Hyundai says makes the life of the cooling block – located below the modules – easier thanks to minimized heat transfer paths. In total, the simpler design resulted in a 10% increase in energy density, the company told us.

The combination of more efficient cooling and an 800V means that a 350kW DC fast charger should increase the state of charge of an E-GMP battery from 5 to 80% in just 18 minutes, this which is frankly impressive. An E-GMP BEV can also use the most common 400V DC fast chargers, using its inverter to convert 400V to 800V for the battery. (Unfortunately, we couldn’t get more details on how this works, but I’ll try to find out.)

Two-way charging is a feature request that we see quite regularly in the reviews, and it’s a feature supported by E-GMP through a new built-in charge controller unit. It is capable of delivering up to 3.5 kW of alternating current (110 V or 220 V) and can “run a mid-size air conditioner and a 55-inch television for up to 24 hours.” You can even charge another BEV using an E-GMP vehicle.

The first E-GMP vehicles – a mid-size SUV called the Ioniq 5 and a BEV bearing the Kia badge – are expected next year.

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