Korean automaker Hyundai is expanding its electric vehicle offerings with what it is calling an "EV business platform," seemingly allowing it to sell battery-electric trucks, camper vans, and more along with its popular electric passenger vehicles, Electrek has reported.
Hyundai sold 268,785 EVs in 2023, as its IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 continued to gain momentum based on their sterling reputations as some of the best-performing EVs relative to their price point.
Now, the company is looking to follow up that record-breaking success by grabbing an even larger share of the EV market with its business platform. The first model that Hyundai is offering on that platform is the Service Type 1, or ST1, a versatile platform intended primarily for delivery services.
"ST1 is a business platform with a variety of expansion possibilities," a Hyundai spokesperson said, adding that it "can be expanded into a platform tailored to various purposes in the future."
According to the Department of Energy, electric passenger vehicles produce 10,000 fewer pounds of air pollution per year than the equivalent gas-powered vehicles. For commercial vehicles, which are larger and less efficient than passenger vehicles, the difference is even larger — which means that more electric commercial vehicles replacing traditional ones is a big win for the health of our planet.
Some electric vehicle skeptics have claimed that EVs are just as bad for the planet as gas-powered cars because of the environmental harm caused by mining for lithium and other rare metals, which are used in their batteries.
However, studies have shown that the net pollution created by gas-powered cars is still much higher. In addition, scientists are hard at work figuring out how to make batteries — and the extraction of their components — more efficient and planet-friendly. (The same cannot be truthfully said for gasoline.)
The continued success of Hyundai's EV division comes at the same time that the fortunes of its chief rival, Tesla, are falling. Tesla recently laid off thousands of workers after what some might call a predictable failure of its Cybertruck.
"Look at Hyundai knocking out the models. 4 or 5 per year as opposed to 1 every 5 years. I bet their sales aren't flat. Plus they make some of the most efficient EVs you can get," wrote one Electrek commenter.
"Great looking truck. Hyundai's now my favorite among the ICE-tethered car makers. Competing with this is a job for Rivian. Hopefully enough people (and capital) will get behind Rivian's commercial projects," wrote another.
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