Hyundai Motor Company, serious about electric vehicles, “invests in a dedicated factory and service network”
Recently, the growth of not only the domestic but also the global electric vehicle market appears to be slowing. In particular, in Korea, measures such as discounts and additional subsidies are being taken to increase electric vehicle sales. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Company's recent aggressive investment in electric vehicles continues to attract attention.
First, on the 13th, Hyundai Motor Company held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Ulsan EV-only factory at the site of its new electric vehicle (EV) factory in Ulsan. The Ulsan EV plant is Hyundai Motor Company's new domestic plant, built 29 years after Hyundai Motor Company's Asan plant was built in 1996.
We are leading the era of electrification, providing products that exceed customer expectations, and establishing a new factory dedicated to electric vehicles to strengthen the domestic industrial base. This factory will be built on a 548,000 m2 site with a capacity to produce 200,000 electric vehicles per year.
At the Ulsan EV factory, Hyundai Motor Company's premium brand Genesis' ultra-large electric SUV model will be mass-produced for the first time. This model is a higher-end model than the GV80, and the car name is GV90, and the platform is known to be developed based on eM, the successor platform to E-GMP.
This is a move that runs counter to the recent slowdown in demand for electric vehicles, which has led to most global companies becoming more cautious about their investments. Hyundai Motor Company expects that it will be able to lead the next 50 years with its Ulsan EV plant.
We are also working to expand our after-sale infrastructure for customers who have already shipped products. Recently, Hyundai Motor Company announced that it has expanded its maintenance network to enable electric vehicle maintenance at more than 1,000 Blue Hands locations nationwide. Blue Hands is Hyundai Motor Company’s official vehicle maintenance service partner.
Hyundai Motor Company has been continuously promoting the development of electric vehicle maintenance bases since 2020 to increase the convenience of maintenance for customers who own electric vehicles. In addition, last year, we introduced the ‘Hyundai Electric Vehicle Master Certification Program’, an independent electric vehicle maintenance technology certification system, and are providing systematic maintenance services by deploying at least one completed engineer.
Hyundai Motor Company predicts that demand for electric vehicles will continue to increase in the future and is expected to continue investing. As most investments related to electric vehicles are being withdrawn or postponed, attention is being paid to whether Hyundai Motor Group will be able to maintain its dominance in the electric vehicle market.