IONIQ5 with Hyundai Motor Group’s EV-only E-GMP platform. (Image provided by Hyundai Motor)
ULSAN, Dec. 16 (Korea Bizwire) –Hyundai Motor will not run overtime shifts at its Ulsan plant for the Ioniq 5 EV this weekend. This decision comes as most local governments in South Korea have ended their electric vehicle subsidy programs for the year, leading to anticipated sales slumps in the coming months.
According to automotive industry analysts on December 15, Hyundai’s Ulsan factory, which produces the Ioniq 5 on Line 12 at Plant 1, will remain closed this weekend.
In Ulsan, out of five factories, three will not have overtime work this weekend. These include Line 11 (Kona), Line 12 (Ioniq 5), and Plant 5′s Line 51 (Genesis G70, G80 and G90). Line 51 has had no overtime for several months due to a decrease in Genesis sedan sales. Line 11′s overtime was canceled following opposition from Plant 1′s labor union, which disagreed with conducting overtime work separately for Line 11. The suspension of the Ioniq 5′s overtime production also affected the production of the Kona.
The halt in the Ioniq 5′s overtime production is interpreted as a response to the expected sharp decline in domestic electric vehicle demand for about two months. Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea have been sluggish in the second half of this year, with projections of further decreases from this month to mid-February of next year. Seoul and Busan closed their EV subsidy applications today at 6 p.m., and most other local governments have already ended their subsidy acceptance periods.
Even earlier this year, when electric vehicle sales were booming, a sales slump occurred in January when subsidies were unavailable. In January, the Ioniq 5 lead domestic EV sales with 76 units, followed by the Ioniq 6 at 23 units and the Genesis GV60 at seven units, while Kia sold only one Niro EV and no EV6 models at all.
Imported vehicles like the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Polestar 2, which qualified for subsidies, also had zero sales in January. Subsidies for next year are expected to be announced by the Ministry of Environment in early February and to be resumed by local governments in mid-February.
Hyundai’s luxury label, Genesis, also stopped production of its GV60 EV at the beginning of this month. The halt is expected to last for about two months until subsidies are resumed next year.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
