Hyundai Motor "Will Sell 300,000 Electric Vehicles Next Year... 40% Increase from This Year"

Q3 Earnings Conference Call
Increased This Year's Target by 40%, Including 60,000 Units of Ioniq 6
"Responding to US IRA, Seeking Government Cooperation and Considering Battery Joint Venture"

Hyundai Motor Company's exclusive electric vehicle Ioniq 6

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hyundai Motor Company has set its domestic and international electric vehicle sales target for next year more than 40% higher than this year.

On the 24th, during the Q3 earnings conference call, Executive Vice President Koo Ja-yong of Hyundai Motor said, "The total electric vehicle sales target for 2023 is expected to increase by more than 40% compared to this year's target of 220,000 units." This amounts to about 300,000 units annually. Despite the challenging internal and external business environment, including a downward revision of the overall vehicle sales target for this year, the company has decided to significantly increase its electric vehicle sales.

The most recently launched electric vehicle, the Ioniq 6, will begin full-scale exports overseas starting with Europe around the end of this year. It is the first sedan model to apply the in-house developed dedicated platform E-GMP, and it is a popular model that attracted nearly 40,000 pre-orders domestically on the first day of its release.

Executive Vice President Koo said, "The Ioniq 6 aims to sell more than 60,000 units, which accounts for about 20% of next year's electric vehicle sales target," adding, "In addition to domestic factories, we plan to continuously increase global sales volume including local production at overseas plants, playing an important role in accelerating the electrification transition."

To respond to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Hyundai Motor revealed that it is either finalizing or reviewing government cooperation, the completion of local electric vehicle factories, and the establishment of battery joint ventures.

Brian Kemp, Governor of Georgia, USA (left), and Jung Jae-hoon, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, are shaking hands after announcing the investment plan for a new electric vehicle plant locally last May.

Seokang Hyun, Vice President of Hyundai Motor and Head of the Planning and Finance Division, said, "The U.S. is a major market accounting for 28% of the 1.87 million electric vehicle sales target by 2030, so we are continuously monitoring the market situation," adding, "While seeking government cooperation regarding the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on the U.S. market, we are also reviewing flexible mid- to long-term response plans to ensure a smooth electrification transition in the U.S."

He continued, "Regarding battery components, which are key parts for the electrification transition, we are reviewing various localization strategies including the establishment of joint ventures to secure stable procurement," and added, "Since similar regulations are expected to be introduced in regions other than the U.S. in the future, we are examining supply chains in those regions and plan to actively participate in recycling major components."

The Inflation Reduction Act regulates not only the condition that final assembly must be done locally but also the origin of batteries, restricting procurement from certain regions such as China. For Hyundai Motor, which has a high dependency on China for battery materials and finished products, this presents a significant challenge.

Vice President Seokang said, "For raw materials, we will pursue securing materials through investment or expanded cooperation with major companies based on eco-friendly technology in line with strengthened environmental regulations to build a sustainable supply chain," and added, "Decisions will be made considering the detailed provisions of the law and our sales situation in the U.S. in the future."

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