Due to Hybrid Car Popularity, 1-Year Wait... Electric Cars Delivered Within 1 Month

Sorento and Avante HEV Require Over 1 Year Wait
Ioniq 5 and 6 Electric Vehicles Available Within 1 Month
Hyundai HEV Sales Up 118% Year-on-Year, EVs Up 8%
HEVs Popular as Cost-Effective Eco-Friendly Cars Without Charging Stress

As domestic electric vehicle (EV) sales expansion slows, the popularity of eco-friendly hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is steadily increasing. Major HEV models from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have waiting times of over a year from order to delivery this month, whereas EVs can be delivered within a month.

According to the September delivery schedules for major models from Hyundai and Kia on the 5th, popular HEV models such as the Hyundai Avante and Kia Sorento require more than a year of waiting for delivery. The Hyundai Sonata HEV takes 11 months, and the Tucson HEV takes 7 months for vehicle delivery. The Kia Sportage HEV requires a 6-month wait.

On the other hand, EV models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, and Kia EV6 can be delivered within a month at most. The EV6, the best-selling EV in the Kia brand, can be delivered in as little as 4 to 5 weeks, while the relatively new EV9 takes about 3 to 4 months for delivery.

This preference for HEVs is clearly reflected in domestic sales figures up to August this year. Hyundai sold 84,665 HEV vehicles domestically from January to August, an increase of 118% compared to the same period last year. During the same period, EV sales increased by 8% to 46,508 units. While HEV sales rose by 118% year-on-year, EV sales only increased by 8%.

Kia, which sells more HEVs than Hyundai, shows a similar trend. From January to August this year, Kia sold 91,879 HEV vehicles domestically, an 11% increase compared to the previous year. During the same period, EV sales were 34,756 units, showing a similar level to last year with a 1.5% increase.

Monthly EV sales for both Hyundai and Kia turned downward compared to the previous year starting in July. The depletion of government and local government EV subsidies is also slower than in previous years. Seoul City decided to allocate subsidies for 10,000 units by combining the first and second half of the year due to unutilized EV passenger car supply in the first half of this year. Due to this atmosphere, there are forecasts that EV sales in the second half of this year will not be easy.

Sorento Hybrid [Photo by Kia]

In contrast, HEV vehicles are in such high demand that they cannot be sold fast enough. As of this month, the best-selling HEV models are Hyundai Grandeur, Kia Sorento, Kia Sportage, Kia K8, and Hyundai Tucson, in that order. An industry insider hinted that more than half of the pre-orders for the recently launched new Santa Fe are for HEV models.

The reason for HEV popularity is the perception that they are an alternative during the transitional period to EVs. In a situation where EV infrastructure is not sufficiently established, HEVs offer an option to enjoy the benefits of eco-friendly vehicles without worrying about charging.

Additionally, HEVs have secured price competitiveness compared to EVs. Looking at Hyundai’s small sport utility vehicles (SUVs), the starting price of the Kona gasoline model is 24.86 million KRW, while the HEV is 29.99 million KRW. The HEV model is about 1.2 times the price of the conventional internal combustion engine model without subsidies.

In contrast, the starting price of EVs is 44.52 million KRW, which is 1.7 times that of internal combustion engine vehicles, about 20 million KRW more expensive. Although EV subsidies can reduce the price to the mid-30 million KRW range, it still costs about 10 million KRW more than internal combustion engine vehicles. Considering the complicated subsidy procedures, stress related to EV charging, and the possibility of future increases in EV charging fees, more people are choosing HEVs.

Jo Cheol, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade, said, "In the global process of reducing EV subsidies, HEV sales can increase at any time. Also, in developing countries and other places where charging infrastructure is not sufficiently established, HEVs can actually gain popularity, so HEVs will be maintained as another form of internal combustion engines for some time."

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