Hyundai Motor "Selling Only Electric Vehicles Entirely Online... Rechallenging the Japanese Market"

Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor Company.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Jang Jae-hoon, President of Hyundai Motor Company, announced on the 4th that he will re-enter the Japanese market by selling only electric vehicles such as the Ioniq 5 entirely online.

In an interview with Bloomberg News on the same day, President Jang said, "We have experienced tremendous growth of electric vehicles in Korea, and we expect the same to happen even faster in Japan."

According to Bloomberg, the market share of electric vehicles in the passenger car market in Japan is still negligible, less than 1%. However, a recent survey shows that one out of four people intending to purchase a vehicle is considering buying an electric vehicle, signaling that the electric vehicle market is entering a growth phase.

President Jang stated that since almost all automakers in the Japanese electric vehicle market are starting from the same starting line, Hyundai has an opportunity to establish a new position as an electric vehicle manufacturer. Regarding past failures in entering the Japanese passenger car market, he emphasized, "The Japanese market is very sophisticated, and Japanese consumers are well-informed about cars, so the standards are high in every aspect. We have prepared extensively to avoid repeating the same mistakes."

Hyundai plans to sell all vehicles online, enabling not only option selection and ordering but also payment, insurance subscription, and vehicle registration functions to be completed online. Regarding this, President Jang said, "We do not have traditional dealers, which means we can try new things."

Hyundai is currently working on establishing a service center in Yokohama that allows test drives and repairs, aiming to start customer deliveries of the Ioniq 5 by mid-year. The company plans to install such centers in various locations across Japan and expand its distribution network by partnering with the Japanese car-sharing company Anyca.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.