Last September, General Motors (GM) and Hyundai signed a strategic partnership agreement. Soon followed a report in South Korea that Hyundai might put its logo on some of the trucks produced by GM. At the time, it was unclear what the American giant would get in return.
The answer came this week. During a conference call with analysts, Hyundai CFO Lee Seung Jo revealed that GM could sell Hyundai electric vans in the U.S. - models that would bear a logo from one of GM's brands. Basically, he said the company was considering simply renaming its electric utility vehicles and supplying them to GM, which would give the company a presence in the commercial van segment in North America.
It’s not known yet whether this would give GM access to Hyundai's ST1 platform or to other types of Hyundai models. The Korean automaker also markets a hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truck, a product that could, for example, serve the California market.
According to Reuters, Hyundai and GM are expected to finalize the details of their partnership by the end of March. The two parties are currently discussing a collaboration covering regular and commercial vehicles, as well as a parts supply, again according to the report.
When the Memorandum of Understanding was signed last year, the two parties also discussed the possibility of jointly developing new products and sourcing raw materials for batteries, as well as steel.
And as Hyundai's CEO pointed out, there are plenty of things to watch out for on the political front in 2025, both in South Korea and in the U.S. Turbulent politics have been making headlines every week for some time over there, while over here, the arrival in power of Donald Trump, and his announced retreat from any measures related to electrification (not to mention threats of tariffs) are creating a climate of uncertainty.