For a couple of the biggest automakers in Asia, hybrid car models are a growing focus.
Hyundai Motors is making a big bet on hybrids. It’s part of a $90 billion wager over the next decade aimed at electric vehicles — and not just those that run only on battery power.
Hyundai plans to double its number of hybrid vehicles to 14 models over the next 10 years.
On Wednesday, Hyundai’s CEO told an investor conference that the company is taking that step — at least in part — because the global demand for battery-only electric vehicles is falling.
In sharp contrast, CEO Chang Jae-hoon said Hyundai is ramping up its sales target for hybrids by 40% over the next four years.
Hybrids combine gas engines with electric power. Sales and production are especially increasing for plug-in hybrids, which carry larger and more powerful batteries than earlier models.
Toyota has long embraced hybrids over fully electric vehicles.
In July, the company announced that it would make all its major models sold in the United States available as hybrids.
Currently, the company has only introduced two all-electric vehicles in the U.S. market.
And in the first half of this year, a third of Toyota’s overall North American vehicle sales were hybrids.
