Hyundai to invest $16.5B in electric vehicles

By Kim Hye-ran & Kim Tae-gyu, UPI News Korea

Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle brand Ioniq 5 cars are assembled in a South Korean factory. Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor

SEOUL, May 19 (UPI) -- Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, announced plans to invest $16.5 billion through 2030 to expand its electric vehicle business, along with its sister company Kia.

Through the investment, the Seoul-based company said Wednesday it would be able to produce 1.44 million units of electric cars a year by 2030 in South Korea alone.

Globally, the company plans to build an annual capacity of 3.23 million EVs, which is a tenfold increase from its current capacity of 350,000 units.

Hyundai is scheduled to come up with 18 EV models through 2030, including its luxury brand Genesis and EV-specific Ioniq models. Kia is set to release 13 EV models by then.

Hyundai and Kia said they hope to achieve a combined market share of 12% by 2030.

Last year, Hyundai said it would channel $7.4 billion in the United States by 2025 to manufacture EVs and upgrade its production facilities in the world's No. 2 automotive market.

It remains to be seen whether Hyundai Motor and Kia would be capable of attaining their goal of the 12% EV market share by 2030, as global carmakers are driving up competition in the market, according to experts.

"Hyundai Motor and Kia have chalked up an early success in the EV market by building a dedicated EV platform. In particular, Hyundai's Ioniq 5 has won so many awards over the past year," Daelim University automotive Professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI News Korea.

"However, global powerhouses in the car business are going all out to secure their competitive edge in the EV business. The competition will be really strong," he said.

The Ioniq 5 was voted World Car of the Year at the 2022 World Car Awards, a program conducted by automotive journalists from across the world.

Global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and General Motors, have joined the transition toward electric models.