Hyundai signs development deal with EV startup Canoo

Hyundai Motor Group and Canoo announced today that Hyundai has engaged Canoo to jointly develop an electric vehicle (EV) platform based on Canoo’s proprietary skateboard design for upcoming Kia and Hyundai models.

As part of the collaboration, Canoo will provide engineering services to help develop a fully scalable, all-electric platform to meet Kia and Hyundai specifications. Hyundai Motor Group expects the platform to help facilitate its commitment to delivering cost-competitive electrified vehicles — ranging from small-sized EVs to Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV) — that meet diverse customer needs.

Canoo, a Los Angeles based company creating EVs for subscription only, offers a skateboard platform which houses the most critical components of the vehicle with a strong emphasis on functional integration, meaning all components fulfil as many functions as possible. This feat of engineering reduces the skateboard size, weight and total number of parts, which ultimately provides more interior cabin space and a more cost-effective EV offering. In addition, the Canoo skateboard is a self-contained unit that can be paired with any cabin design.

Hyundai Motor Group expects an adaptable all-electric platform using Canoo’s scalable skateboard architecture to allow for a simplified and standardized development process for Kia and Hyundai electrified vehicles, which is expected to help reduce cost that can be passed along to consumers. Hyundai Motor Group also expects to reduce complexity of its EV assembly line, allowing for rapid response to changing market demands and customer preferences.

Canoo unveiled its first electric vehicle for subscription only on Sept. 24, 2019, just 19 months after the company’s founding in December 2017. Canoo reached Beta testing phase within 19 months of inception, and the company recently opened the waitlist for its first vehicle. This is a major milestone for the company and the culmination of the efforts of 300+ experts working to deliver a proof of concept of Canoo’s backbone architectural systems. Canoo’s first vehicle will launch in 2021, and is designed for a world in which transportation is becoming increasingly electric, shared and autonomous.