On Tuesday, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company announced that it had surpassed China’s Wuling Motors Holdings Ltd. to become the largest provider of electric vehicles (EVs) in Indonesia. During the first seven months of the year, Hyundai sold 3,913 EVs in the Southeast Asian country, surpassing the 2,028 EVs it sold in all of 2022. This resulted in a 56.5 percent market share in the January-July period, a significant increase from the 19.6 percent it held last year.
The Ioniq 5, Hyundai’s all-electric model, has been a major contributor to the company’s success in Indonesia. Additionally, Hyundai has been producing combustion engine models at its Indonesian plant for local sales and exports. Last month, the Ioniq 6 sedan, Hyundai’s second dedicated EV model, was unveiled at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS).
Hyundai Motor Group and South Korea’s leading battery maker, LG Energy Solution, are also constructing a battery cell plant in Indonesia to ensure a steady supply of the core EV part to the Hyundai plant. This joint plant is expected to begin operations next year.
Hyundai has been attempting to increase its market share in Indonesia, which is largely dominated by Japanese carmakers and has a population of 670 million. To do this, the automaker has been offering localized models such as the Stargazer multipurpose vehicle and the Creta subcompact car. In 2021, Hyundai’s vehicle sales, including EVs, were 3,005 units, ranking it the 13th-biggest carmaker. By 2022, this number had risen to 31,965 units, making Hyundai the eighth-biggest carmaker, and in the January-July period of this year, the number was already up to 20,065 units, making Hyundai the sixth-biggest carmaker.
Hyundai has seven domestic plants in Korea and 11 overseas plants in China, the United States, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Russia, India, Brazil and Indonesia. Combined, these plants have a capacity of 5.65 million vehicles.
This file photo provided by Hyundai Motor shows the all-electric Ioniq 5 model. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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