Kia, Hyundai announce investment into IONITY JV

The IONITY joint venture that was formed in 2017 comprising BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen Group with Porsche AG has now welcomed Kia and Hyundai as its latest partners, Kia has announced, which will see the Hyundai Motor Group obtain shares in IONITY equal to those of the founding partners.

Since the formation of the joint venture, IONITY has established almost 140 operational charging stations in Europe, with another 50 under construction, Kia says. The collective aims to have 400 fast-charging stations by 2020, while Kia and Hyundai’s own EV models will be equipped with 800V charging systems from 2021 in order to accommodate the HPC facilities by IONITY, which offer maximum charging power of 350 kW.

These HPC facilities employ the Combined Charging System standard, which is aimed at ensuring the widest possible compatibility with electrified vehicles across Europe. The first batch of fast-charging stations have been rolled out along major roads in Germany, Norway and Austria, at Tank & Rast, Circle K and OMV rest stops which are IONITY partners.

“Our participation in this joint venture reaffirms the Group’s commitment to future electromobility. I am confident that our work with IONITY will open a new era of high-power charging experiences, where charging will be seamless and easier than refueling for our customers,” said Hyundai Motor Group executive vice president and head of product division Thomas Schemera.

This will go towards Hyundai Motor Group’s aim of launching 44 eco-friendly models by 2025. The firm has also partnered with Rimac Automobili in May this year towards the co-development of prototypes for forthcoming high-performance electrified models.

This partnership sees Hyundai and Kia invest 64 million euros (RM293 million) and 16 million euros (RM73 million) respectively into Rimac, from which the companies will co-develop an EV version of the Hyundai N midship sports car as well as a high-performance fuel cell model.

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