Carmakers to expand affordable EV, hybrid lineups in Korea

Carmakers in South Korea are slated to unveil new electric vehicle models at cheaper prices next year to revive the sputtering EV market and also roll out a string of new hybrid cars, which are catching on with Korean drivers.

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, recently decided to postpone the launch of the full-size electric sports utility vehicle IONIQ 7 by five months to December 2024 to make room for cheaper EV models such as the EV3, the EV4 and the electric version of the Casper SUV.

The delay in the launch of the new flagship model in its IONIQ EV series reflects waning demand for expensive EV models, according to industry officials.

Hyundai Motor Group, which encompasses Kia Corp., will roll out the Kia EV3, a small-size electric SUV and the EV4, an electric sedan, next year ahead of the IONIQ 7.

The EV3 and the EV4 are priced in a range between $35,000 and $50,000 in the global market.

Including government subsidies, the EV3's price could be lowered to around $23,000, or 30 million won. That is much cheaper than the full-option model of the EV9, Kia’s full-size electric SUV, priced at over 100 million won.

The EV3 will arrive in South Korea in the second quarter of 2024, followed by the EV4 launch around the end of next year.

Hyundai will unveil the electric version of the Casper SUV, its popular compact model, in the second half of next year. It is tentatively named the Casper Electric.

Foreign peers will follow suit. General Motors Co. is scheduled to launch the all-electric Equinox SUV in Korea next year, with Volvo Cars slated to introduce the small-size electric EX30 SUV, priced in the 40 million won range.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric compact SUV, is scheduled to hit the Korean market in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is set to release its new 2024 E-Class sedan. Audi is scheduled to roll out the 2024 model of its Q8 e-tron, an all-electric SUV.

GROWING HYBRID CAR MARKET

South Korea's hybrid car market expanded to 6.12 trillion won in terms of sales in the first half of 2023, a 53.1% surge over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.

In the January-November period of this year, hybrid car sales reached 283,365 units in South Korea, similar to the diesel car sales volume of 288,834 units over the same period, according to CarIsYou Data Research Institute.

Hyundai has unveiled a revamped model of its global best-selling compact SUV, the Tucson, equipped with a hybrid engine.

Kia has recently released the first hybrid model of the Carnival minivan.

PRODUCTION INCREASE

Hyundai Motor is also preparing to ramp up hybrid car production. Next year, it will churn out the hybrid Tucson for the first time at the third plant of its Ulsan manufacturing complex. The third plant is dedicated mainly to the Avante compact car and the i30 small car.

Renault Korea has not introduced a new car this year. In the second half of 2024, however, it will launch a mid-sized hybrid SUV model, in development under the project name Aurora.

Other global brands such as Toyota, Lexus and BMW will unveil new hybrid models in Korea next year after markng strong sales growth in its hybrid car market.

PICKUP TRUCKS

Next year, Kia is also preparing to expand into the pickup truck market with the launch of its first pickup truck model, tentatively named TK1.

KG Mobility, formerly Ssangyong Motor, will roll out its electric pickup truck, tentatively named O100, in the second half of next year.

Write to Sungsu Bae and Nan-Sae Bin at baebae@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.