Hyundai Motor has set a new sales target of its electric vehicles at 1.87 million units a year, aiming to secure 7 percent of global EV market share in the next eight years.

Such a goal would have EVs turning into a major cash cow for the carmaker over combustion engine cars, as the portion of battery-powered vehicles in overall sales will rise to 36 percent, the carmaker said in a statement released on Wednesday. By expanding the production of EVs, Hyundai hopes to generate bigger margins of more than 10 percent. 

Specifically, the company will achieve 11 percent and 6 percent EV market share in the US and Europe, respectively, and 58 percent in Korea. 

Last year, the carmaker held 4.06 percent market share in the US by selling 15,369 units. Globally, Hyundai Motor recorded a 4.8 percent market share for EVs in the Q3 last year. 

To increase overall market share, the company will diversify its EV lineup to have 17 EV models by 2030. It will focus mainly on electric SUVs, which are more popular and profitable. Of the 17 EV models that will be ready by 2030, 11 of them will be launched by Hyundai Motor and six of them by the luxury brand unit Genesis. 

The group will also invest 12 trillion won ($9.9 billion) by 2030 to develop software capacity such as connectivity and autonomous driving. It will also invest in big data centers, research institutions and startups in related fields. 

Hyundai’s software investment is part of the 95.5 trillion won budget set to be used for future business by 2030. 

Separately, of 95.5 trillion won, 20 percent will be put to electrifying vehicles, developing EV batteries and establishing related infrastructure. 

“As a mobility solution provider, Hyundai Motor Group will not only enhance hardware performance, but also strengthen software capacity to continuously offer optimized service and seek sustainable business growth,” said Hyundai Motor Group CEO and President Chang Jae-hoon during the 2022 CEO Investor Day held online, Wednesday. 

In terms of seeking efficiency and optimization of EV battery, Hyundai Motor Group said its Global Innovation Center in Sinagpore will play a control tower role to manage global EV production.

In nine countries with established EV markets -- the US, China, India, Russia, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Indonesia and Korea -- Hyundai Motor Group will build more EV production infrastructures. 

Its battery system will be standardized under nine types, changing the current cell-to-module battery process to cell-to-pack type to increase battery density and enhance efficiency. It will also seek to find an alternative battery type such as LFP and develop a next-generation battery for a performance upgrade and cost reduction. 

Under a short-term goal, Hyundai Motor Group said it will cement ties with global top-tier battery makers to secure 170GWh EV batteries needed for production of 1.87 million EVs by 2030.

According to the carmaker, two new EV platforms will be adopted by 2025, one for a passenger car and one for a purpose-based vehicle. 

Models produced based on such platforms will be equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving and Over The Air update function as the standard setting. All Genesis cars that will be launched from the year-end will have an OTA update function.