Hyundai Motor and its affiliate KIA Motors Corp announced its plan to roll out small electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) based on an existing underpinning next year – according to Lee Ki-sang who heads Hyundai-KIA's green cars operations. However, whilst the company stressed that the platform will not be completed soon – it did declare that once introduced the company will possess a product capable of penetrating and challenging the market-leaders in the electric-car segment. The separate platform represents a major push into the battery electric-car segment for Hyundai which has long trumpeted rival fuel-cell vehicles, reflecting strong investor pressure to compete more vigorously in a market that has been stimulated by US based Tesla's longer-range models.