Hyundai is bringing on ex-Porsche and Apple exec Manfred Harrer to lead the development of its new luxury Genesis Magma brand. The appointment is expected to help accelerate Hyundai Motor’s (including Kia’s) transition to electric with “top-tier” EV leadership.
Hyundai hires ex-Porsche, Apple Car exec
Hyundai Motor announced Tuesday it had hired Harrer as executive vice president and head of its newly established Genesis & Performance Development Tech Unit.
Harrer’s expertise from top-tier companies like Porsche, Apple, BMW, and Audi will “Bolster the Group’s R&D competitiveness and drive the development of Genesis products.” Hyundai expects the hiring to also enhance the performance of Hyundai and Kia vehicles as they shift to electric.
The appointment “will greatly benefit Hyundai Motor Group products, enhancing the image and reputation” of the brand, according to Heui Won Yang, president of Hyundai/Kia’s R&D division.
With over 25 years of experience, Harrer has helped advance several projects, including chassis development, electronic systems, software development, full vehicle integration, and ADAS.
Hyundai expects Harrer’s leadership and expertise will “expedite its electrification transition, securing top-tier leadership in the electric vehicle (EV) era.”
Harrer was behind the development of the iconic Porsche Cayenne and the brand’s first EV, the Porsche Taycan.
Poaching Apple Car talent
Most recently, Harrer served as senior director of product design engineering for three years at Apple. Apple hired Harrer from Porsche to work on its “secret” electric Apple Car project. Meanwhile, Apple canceled the EV project “Titan” after more than a decade this February.
Harrer is expected to help bolster EV development at Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia. According to the Korean Economic Daily, Hyundai is looking to recruit around ten former Apple Car engineers who have left the project.
Genesis launched Magma, “the brand’s extension into the realm of high-performance vehicles,” in March. The brand’s first concept, the GV60 Magma, is a sporty upgrade on Genesis’ first EV.
Last month, Genesis unveiled the G80 EV Magma concept, a potential answer to Tesla’s Model S Plaid.
Harrer is expected to lead Genesis Magma EV development while contributing to Hyundai’s N performance unit. Hyundai N’s first electric car, the IONIQ 5 N, is the brand’s most powerful vehicle yet (watch it race a Lamborghini Urus Performante and Porsche Macan GTS).
Electrek’s Take
Hyundai sees performance EVs as a critical piece of its electric future. The South Korean automaker wants to make electric cars that are not only efficient, but also sleek and fun to drive.
In an exclusive interview with Electrek, Hyundai America CEO Randy Parker told us the automaker is “humble and hungry” to separate itself from the EV pack.
Its early commitment is paying off, with EV sales surging 62% in the US in Q1. Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and Kona Electric set new Q1 US sales records.
Parker confirmed that “demand for our vehicles, especially EVs, remains high.” Despite rivals pulling back on EV initiatives, Hyundai is “sticking to its strategy,” Parker told Electrek.
Hyundai already had six of the top ten most fuel-efficient EVs (by trim) in the US last year, but the company plans to continue improving.
Hyundai’s US boss told Electrek that the company is giving consumers confidence with its fast-charging, long-range, reliable electric cars. Perhaps most importantly, Hyundai also offers some of the most affordable EVs on the market.
According to Parker, the first three-row Hyundai electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, is “definitely coming.” It could rival larger electric SUVs like the Rivian R1S and Kia’s EV9.
With some of the most affordable, fuel-efficient EVs on the market, Hyundai’s electric cars are listed at some of the lowest prices so far. You can use our links below to find deals on Hyundai’s EVs at a dealer near you today.
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The all-electric Cadillac LYRIQ was an Electrek favorite when it first made its debut two years ago. Now, LYRIQ buyers who have been waiting for a deal can score more than $10,500 in discounts on the Ultium-based Caddy.
Our own Seth Weintraub said that GM had come in, “a year early and dollar long at $60K” when he first drove the Ultium-based Cadillac LYRIQ back in 2022. He called the SUV “a stunner,” too, heaping praise on the LYRIQ’s styling inside and out before adding that the EV’s ride quality really impressed on long journeys.
Well, if the first mainstream electric Cadillac was a winner at its original, $57,195 starting price (rounded up to $60K for easy math), what could we call it at $10,500 less?
That’s a question that’s suddenly worth asking, thanks to huge GM discounts on the LYRIQ that prompted the automotive pricing analysts at CarsDirect to name the 2024 LYRIQ one of the industry’s “Best New Car Deals” this month:
A slew of incentives can enable you to save big on a 2024 Cadillac LYRIQ. First, EVs eligible for the federal tax credit qualify for $7,500 in Ultium Promise Bonus Cash from GM. Additionally, competing EV owners can score $3,000 in conquest cash.
With more than 100 kWh of battery capacity and 300-plus miles of real-world driving range (plus available 190 kW charging capability) the Cadillac LYRIQ ticks all the boxes – but you don’t have to take just my word for that.
A global shortage of qualified operators is impacting job sites everywhere, precisely at a time when demand for housing, mineral mining, and renewable energy construction is going from peak to peak. That’s why companies from Caterpillar to Tesla to Einride are pushing to advance autonomy the way they are.
First revealed as a concept in 2021, Volvo CE’s CX01 autonomous “single drum” asphalt roller concept has seen continuous development in the years since. Making its Volvo Days debut, the CX01 has shed the original single drum design for a “split drum,” with each half being controlled by an internalized, independent electric motor.
The CX01’s electric motors not only help to propel and steer the roller, they also vibrate the drums individually, using some trick software calibration to effectively “cancel each other out,” delivering all the benefits of vibrating drum rollers without the noise.
It’s so smart, you guys
It’s also worth noting that the CX01 is something of an “extended range” EV, instead of a “pure” BEV. That’s because it uses a small, 1.4L diesel engine to spin a generator that powers not batteries, but capacitors (those blue things, above right). Those capacitors can be charged on grid power (or from an accompanying TC13 trench compactor), but they’re much better than batteries at releasing energy really quickly, enabling the diesel to operate at its maximum efficiency while maintaining extremely precise, high-torque movement from the motors.
Volvo CE engineers envision a team CX01 rollers units deployed on larger job sites that could work together and communicate with other pieces of equipment on the site. The connected equipment could help survey the job site, report on the conditions of the mat (density, temperature, and passes), and leverage AI to determine when and where to compact without the need for human operators.
All of which is great, sure – but they had me at “giant OneWheel.”
Volvo TA15 autonomous electric haul truck
Volvo TA15 autonomous haul truck; photo by the author.
Part of Volvo CE’ “TARA” line of autonomous products, the “production ready” TA15 autonomous electric haul trucks are already part of a number of pilot programs on Volvo customer job sites. Being autonomous, they’re ideally suited to performing repetitive routes, dozens of times per day, without exposing human operators to fatigue or injury.
“TARA enables you to downsize and replace larger diesel-powered vehicles with a fleet of autonomous electric Volvo TA15s capable of running 24/7,” reads the official TARA release. “This not only helps you cut emissions and increase productivity, it will also help you rightsize your machinery and optimize your hauling routes.”
And that brings us to the real topic at hand: sustainability.
Electrek’s Take
Volvo SD110 single drum roller, via Volvo CE.
As we’ve often discussed on The Heavy Equipment Podcast, there are two types of sustainability, and both are important. The first is the “classic” version of sustainability, in that our choices need to sustain the planet and environment we live in. The second is sustainability of the business – the ability to keep doing business in a way that ensures the survival of the business, itself.
Looking at the conventional Volvo SD110 conventional roller, above, you can see the incredible amount of materials – of steel, rubber, plastic, glass, etc. – that simply isn’t needed to produce the CX01 roller we started this article with.
All that added mass has a massive hidden carbon cost. The cost of getting those materials out of the ground, the need for bigger, heavier roads to support the weight of the machine, and the bigger, burlier trucks and trailers needed to transport it. Heck, even the operator’s commute to and from the job site adds to the carbon cost of the SD110, over and above the harmful emissions from its diesel engine’s exhaust stack.
The CX01? It’s objectively more sustainable than the SD110 roller in every way, and does pretty much the same job.
Following successful inbound implementations in the Pacific Northwest, North Carolina, and Mexico, Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) is expanding the reach of its electric semi fleet into Arizona with long-time associate JB Hunt.
JB Hunt will add the new Freightliner eCascadia electric semi to its Arizona fleet immediately, and put it to work delivering aftermarket truck parts from DTNA’s parts distribution center (PDC) in Phoenix to multiple DTNA dealers along a dedicated route.
The electric Freightliner truck is expected to cover approximately 100 miles in a given day before heading “home” to a Detroit eFill charger installed at Daimler’s Phoenix facility.
“This solution with DTNA is a great example of our commitment to supporting customers’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and work towards energy transition,” explains Greer Woodruff, executive vice president of safety, sustainability and maintenance at JB Hunt. “JB Hunt owns and operates several eCascadias on behalf of customers, and our drivers have really enjoyed their in-cab experience. As customer interest continues to grow, we are here to enable their pursuit for a more sustainable supply chain in the most economic means possible.”
Daimler is analyzing future expansion opportunities throughout its internal parts distribution and logistics with an eye on electrifing additional routes and further reducing the carbon footprint of its logistics operations.