"Now Even Batteries Are Subscribed"... Hyundai Motor Group Eases Electric Vehicle Usage Burden

Pilot Project Based on Regulatory Exemption for Separate Registration of Vehicle Body and Battery Ownership
Subscription Service for General Consumers Also Planned for Second Half of the Year
"Expected to Contribute to the Government's Future Electric Vehicle Expansion Policy"

Hyundai Motor Group is working to ease the burden of electric vehicle usage by conducting a pilot service that separates the battery from the vehicle body and offers it as a subscription.

Hyundai Motor Company Ioniq 5. Hyundai Motor Group

On April 28, Hyundai Motor Group announced that Hyundai Motor Company and Hyundai Capital will jointly launch a pilot project for an electric vehicle battery subscription service in the first half of this year, targeting corporate taxis whose warranty periods have expired. This project is being carried out based on a regulatory exemption for “separate registration of ownership for EV body and battery,” which was approved in November last year through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s mobility regulatory sandbox review.

The current Automobile Management Act does not have a system for registering and managing the battery separately from the electric vehicle. As a result, the burden of depreciation due to battery performance degradation and the cost of battery replacement have been pointed out as factors limiting demand for electric vehicle purchases.

Hyundai Motor Company plans to operate a battery subscription service for five Ioniq 5 corporate taxis in the Seoul metropolitan area to examine how the separation of battery ownership affects the cost of operating electric vehicles and the vehicle utilization period in real-world conditions.

During the pilot, participating corporate taxis will pay a monthly subscription fee to Hyundai Capital. When a battery replacement is needed, they will return the used battery to Hyundai Capital and receive a replacement battery owned by Hyundai Capital. This service is operated as a subscription model without requiring a separate battery purchase.

Because corporate taxis typically accumulate high mileage over a short period, resulting in faster battery degradation and a higher demand for replacements, Hyundai Motor Group aims to comprehensively verify through this pilot project the potential for reducing cost burdens during electric vehicle operation and extending the vehicle operation period.

Meanwhile, in addition to this pilot project, Hyundai Motor Group also plans to conduct another pilot in the second half of this year, offering electric vehicle sales and battery subscription services based on the separate registration of ownership for the vehicle body and battery to general customers.

A Hyundai Motor Group official stated, “Through this pilot, we will be able to verify the effects of battery ownership separation in real-world operation,” adding, “We aim to provide innovative financial and subscription products based on the separation of electric vehicle battery ownership in the market, lowering the burden of electric vehicle purchase and operation for consumers and contributing to the government’s ongoing policy to expand electric vehicle adoption.”

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