GM and Hyundai to develop vehicles together amid China EV competition
Four of the vehicles — a compact SUV/car/pickup, and a mid-size pickup — are targeted for launch in Central and South America in 2028 and support both internal combustion and hybrid powertrains.
GM and Hyundai did not say where the models would be produced, but said they expected to be rolling out at least 800,000 vehicles a year at full production.
The partnership will help GM and Hyundai battle growing competition from Chinese EV manufacturers in Latin America. But some questioned whether it would create meaningful synergies.
'Even if they sell those new models in South America, it's hard to beat Chinese competitors which already are leading in the electric-vehicle market with low prices,' said An Hyung-jin, chief investment officer at Seoul-based hedge fund Billionfold Asset Management.
'Hyundai might be able to learn from GM about how to build pickup trucks, but it would take some time to generate earnings,' he added.
The two global carmakers will also co-develop and produce an electric commercial van in the US as early as 2028.
'The partnership itself is a win-win strategy, since GM can learn the hybrid technology from Hyundai while Hyundai can use the relationship with GM as leverage for trade negotiations with the US,' said Teddi Kim, head of auto research firm Mirae-Mobility Research & Services.
The US and South Korea last week reached a trade agreement for a 15% tariff on US imports from South Korea, including vehicles.
Shares in Hyundai Motor rose 0.7%, against the wider market's 0.5% gain. The deal is among several announced between a South Korean company and a US firm in recent weeks, after Samsung Electronics' chip deal with Tesla and Apple, and LG Energy Solution's battery deal with Tesla.
Reuters in March reported that Hyundai and GM were nearing a deal to share two commercial electric vans and pickup trucks.
This is the first major partnership for vehicle development for Hyundai Motor.
GM has been unwinding several projects with Japan's Honda over the past decade. In 2023, the two companies scrapped a $5bn (R88.75bn) plan to jointly develop affordable electric vehicles.
Chinese carmakers have released several hi-tech, low-cost models, putting pressure on legacy rivals such as GM to slash expenses and streamline manufacturing processes. To compete with these rivals, many have explored partnerships as a way to share development costs, especially for battery-powered models.
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Daily Maverick
8 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
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The South African
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IOL News
18 hours ago
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Average US tariffs top 20%, back to 1910s levels: WTO and IMF
The US tariff rate now averages 20.1%, the highest level since the early 1910s. Image: File The US tariff rate now averages 20.1%, the highest level since the early 1910s - except for a brief spike earlier this year - after new duties took effect Thursday, WTO and IMF data showed Friday. The figure, calculated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), stands in contrast with the 2.4% rate in force at the time of President Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. Trump's April 2 announcement of "reciprocal" tariffs on the United States's main trading partners and subsequent escalations, particularly on Chinese goods, briefly drove the average rate to 24.8% in May, a figure unseen since 1904, according to data from the United States International Trade Commission. A trade "truce" brought down sky-high tariff levels that the United States and China had imposed upon one another, but that is set to expire next week. The new figure by the WTO and IMF takes into account the trade deals the United States negotiated with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other nations that have now come into force. It also includes the latest tariffs unilaterally applied by the United States on Brazil, Canada and semi-finished copper imports. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ These deals usually included lower tariff levels than Trump threatened in April but were higher than the baseline 10% rate the US introduced. The updated average tariff rate exceeds the nearly 20% rate that the United States applied in the 1930s, a period of high tariffs that economists widely consider behind the severity and duration of the Great Depression. However, the WTO and the IMF estimate the average rate, which is based on trade volumes, by applying the latest rates to 2024 trade volumes. Thus, it is an estimation as companies have already changed their behaviour by stockpiling and delaying purchases and may shift buying patterns or reduce imports in reaction to the new rates. According to the Budget Lab at Yale University, once changing consumption patterns and secondary effects are taken into account, the figure should fall towards 17.7%, provided Trump doesn't make any more shock announcements. AFP
