General Motors Could Partner with Hyundai to Sell Commercial Electric Vehicles in the U.S.
Hyundai’s CFO, Seung Jo Lee, revealed this week that the company is considering re-badging its commercial electric vehicles for sale under one of General Motors’ brands in the United States. This potential deal could mark Hyundai’s entry into the North American commercial vehicle market.
Hyundai and GM previously signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to explore an EV and fuel-cell partnership. The automakers are now working towards finalizing binding contracts for collaboration on parts procurement, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles within the first quarter of this year.
In other markets, Hyundai sells commercial vehicles such as buses and heavy-duty trucks. While the automaker has not ventured into the U.S. market under its own brand, it is conducting tests of Xcient Fuel Cell Class 8 semi trucks in California.
It remains to be seen which Hyundai commercial electric vehicles GM may choose to sell in the U.S. GM has previously marketed electric vans under the BrightDrop brand, which have now been integrated into Chevrolet’s lineup. These vans share the same component set as GM’s current electric cars and trucks.
While GM has not focused on developing new commercial vehicles recently, it did release a rebadged version of the Nissan NV200 as the Chevrolet City Express. However, neither GM nor Nissan brought the electric version of the NV200 to the U.S. market.