Automotive Engineering - August 2022 - 8

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
NEW MOBILITY
Hyundai engineers a multi-modal electrified mobility future
Here's a Hyundai vehicle that you're
likely not familiar with: It has LED headlamps
at the front, a lithium-ion battery
to drive its motor, a digital interface and
is designed with a compact footprint.
It's an electric scooter weighing 17 lb.
(7.7 kg) and is configured so that it can
be readily folded for carrying or be fitted
into a Hyundai vehicle with four
wheels rather than two. It has a 10.5-Ah
battery and a 20-km (12.4-mile) range.
By comparison, the Ioniq 5 is offered
with either a 58- or 77-kWh lithiumpolymer
battery and has an EPAestimated
range of 303 miles (487 km).
But as Trevor Lai, senior manager,
product planning, Hyundai Motor
America, points out, the e-scooter as a
" last-mile " mode of transportation is in
keeping with the company's efforts to
transform itself from a traditional automobile
manufacturer to a " smart mobility
solutions provider. "
Beyond the norm
While that is the sort of thing that plenty
of auto OEMs are saying nowadays,
Hyundai is showing a serious strategic
commitment to this undertaking. It has
established a joint venture with Aptiv,
called Motional, to develop driverless
technology. Motional is currently partnering
with Lyft, Via and Uber Eats.
Motional is almost an example of
table-stakes in what is going on as
OEMs work to have some level of autonomous
capability (e.g., GM and
Cruise; Ford and Argo AI). Hyundai
goes one better with Supernal, its advanced
air mobility operation that intends
to have electric vertical takeoff
and landing (eVTOL) craft in service by
2028. That goes far above what other
OEMs are doing (e.g., at the 2019 CES,
Cadillac showed VTOL concepts - but
they were just that, concepts).
Still, the primary focus at Hyundai is
on traditional vehicles, but even there it
is focusing on alternative powertrain
setups, as in hybrids, plug-in hybrids
and battery-electric vehicles, Lai points
out. It also has the Nexo fuel cell electric
vehicle in its lineup, as well as the
Xcient FCEV Class-8 truck.
Hyundai Motor Co. is investing $16.2
billion globally on electrification with
plans to have a full portfolio of EV models
available by 2030.
Portfolio approach
At present, Hyundai has engineered a
wide offering of electrified vehicles that
are currently available, from the previously
mentioned Ioniq 5 BEV and Nexo
FCEV to other offerings. The company
has just done a refresh of the Kona
Electric, which has a 64-kWh LG Chem
lithium-ion polymer battery. The compact
crossover has a claimed range of
258 miles (415 km) and a traction motor
rated at 150 kW at 3,600 rpm.
Hyundai has developed what it calls
its TMED (Transmission Mounted
Electric Device) architecture for hybrid/
plug-in hybrid applications in its crossovers.
In this setup, the electric motor is
located between the engine and the
transmission, with a clutch between the
engine and the motor.
For the Santa Fe and Tucson powertrain
setups (they are both the same),
the hybrid has a 44.2-kW traction motor
and a 1.5-kWh high-voltage battery,
while the plug-in uses a 66.9-kW traction
motor and a 13.8-kWh high-voltage
battery. In both cases there is a 1.6-L
turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that
produces 179 hp (133 kW) and a
6-speed automatic transmission that is
optimized for hybrid applications. The
vehicles also have a 13-kW hybrid starter-generator.
The system output for the
hybrid is 226 hp (168 kW); the plug-in
generates a claimed 260 hp (194 kW).
Lai notes the TMED architecture as
Hyundai's Supernal advanced air mobility
operation intends to have electric VTOL craft
(concept shown) in service by 2028.
8 August 2022
well as the E-GMP (Electric-Global
Modular Platform) that underpins the
Ioniq 5 will be used for other yet-to-beintroduced
BEVs. " Modularity is important.
It helps protect for the future, " he
said. Clearly, the future is something
that Hyundai is creating right now.
Steve Macaulay
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
To be a " smart
mobility " solutions
provider takes
more than cars and
crossovers. Hyundai's
e-scooter features a
tri-folding design and
a manageable curb
weight of 7.7 kg.
BOTH IMAGES: HYUNDAI
Automotive Engineering - August 2022

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