New GM-Hyundai Alliance Targets Toyota’s Global Domination originally appeared on Autoblog.
The new collaboration could steal market share from Toyota and Volkswagen
In one of the most significant automaker collaborations to be announced recently, General Motors and Hyundai have confirmed that they’ll be co-developing five new vehicles across multiple segments. GM is already involved in a joint venture with Honda, but this new Hyundai collab is much more extensive.
In a market ravaged by the Trump administration’s tariffs in 2025, the two companies will be able to reduce costs and streamline manufacturing by working together. The first of the five vehicles will arrive in 2028, but only one will make it to North America.
New Collab Will Spawn Everything From Compacts To Vans
The five new vehicles from GM and Hyundai will include a midsize pickup, along with compact cars, pickups, SUVs, and an electric commercial van. Only the electric van will reach North America; it will be a smaller model to slot in below the Chevrolet BrightDrop vans. The other models will be sold in Central and South America. Ultimately, the joint venture aims to produce over 800,000 vehicles annually.
GM will lead the production of the mid-size pickup platform, which is no surprise since the company has more experience with building trucks. The compact and electric van platforms will be led by Hyundai. However, each company will sell the new models under their own brands, with distinctive designs for the interior and exterior.
To say that GM and Hyundai are a powerful duo is an understatement. Combined, they produce more vehicles than any other single automaker across the globe. They have almost two dozen assembly plants and rank in the top 50 for U.S. patents, so both are driven by innovative technologies and designs.
Flexible Platforms Won’t Be Limited To One Powertrain Type
The new platforms will support both gasoline and hybrid powertrains. This makes sense, given the focus on the Central and Southern American markets, along with the general industry trend to slow down the implementation of EVs. However, there are no limits to what propulsion systems the two companies could work on together, with both companies mentioning hydrogen fuel cell technologies as a possibility. The Korean brand already has extensive experience with the hydrogen-powered Nexo.
“GM and Hyundai have complementary strengths and talented teams,” said Mary Barra, GM CEO. “Our goal is to unlock the scale and creativity of both companies to deliver even more competitive vehicles to customers faster and more efficiently.”
“Hyundai’s strategic collaboration with GM will help us continue to deliver value and choice to our customers across multiple vehicle segments and markets,” said José Muñoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company. “Our combined scale in North and South America helps us to more efficiently provide our customers more of what they want – beautifully designed, high-quality, safety focused vehicles with technology they appreciate.”
Toyota was the best-selling car brand in 2024, with almost 11 million vehicles sold. By joining forces, GM and Hyundai could eat into the Japanese marque’s domination by leveraging their respective strengths and supply chains. As part of the new alliance, the companies will explore new development programs for global markets.
“The strategy is to leverage each company's core competencies to rapidly increase global market share and challenge the dominance of Toyota Motor and Volkswagen Group, the two biggest automakers globally,” said Moon Hak-hoon, an automotive engineering professor at Osan University, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.
New GM-Hyundai Alliance Targets Toyota’s Global Domination first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 7, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
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