Hyundai, Kia ready to ramp up EV output in Europe, US

South Korea’s top two automakers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. are expected to ramp up electric vehicle production in Europe and the US to better deal with stricter pollution targets and hefty tariffs on foreign cars.

According to sources in the auto industry on Wednesday, Hyundai Motor has embarked on a process to produce EVs at its plant in Turkiye, which currently only churns out combustion engine cars, such as the i20.

Korea’s largest carmaker is expected to start producing battery-powered cars alongside gasoline-powered vehicles from the plant next year after it reportedly halts local production of the i10, its strategic model for the European auto market.

All green cars to be made in the plant will be shipped to neighboring countries in Europe, where clean car demand is set to increase due to the European Union’s tough environment production regulations making all new cars and vans zero-emission from 2035.

Demand for EVs in the region is also seeing a sign of recovery from a protracted EV uptake slowdown. 

EV DEMAND IN EUROPE SEES SIGN OF RECOVERY 

EV sales in Europe jumped 37% in January from the same month of last year, partly thanks to renewed government subsidies for EVs in some countries, including Germany.

To meet the revived clean car demand, Hyundai Motor is said to be considering manufacturing compact battery electric cars at the Turkiye plant.  

Its sibling Kia is more aggressive in EV production in Europe after vowing to sell half of its new EV4 cars in Europe this year.  

Last week, it premiered its midsize all-electric EV4, which is expected to rival Tesla Inc.’s Model 3, in Spain and unveiled a plan to sell 160,000 units of the EV4 across the globe this year.  

Europe is Kia’s largest overseas EV market, accounting for 34% of its entire global EV sales.

To meet the target, Kia plans to convert its plant in Slovakia into an EV production hub and start producing the EV4 hatchback version in the plant in the first half.

It also plans to churn out the EV2, a compact sports utility vehicle, from the plant later this year.

EV OUTPUT EXPANSION IN THE US

The Korean auto duo is also considering expanding EV production in the US in response to the Donald Trump administration’s heavy duties on imported cars.

Hyundai Motor has recently started producing the IONIQ5 at Hyundai Motor Group’s first dedicated mass-production EV plant, Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), in Savannah, Georgia, which opened late last year.  

To offset the US government’s anticipated 25% tariff on Korea-made cars, the Korean auto behemoth is said to be mulling ramping up annual EV production at HMGMA from 300,000 units to 500,000 units.

Kia is also expected to change the production plan for its car plant in Mexico.

It has been exploring various scenarios to address the impact of the US tariff on foreign-made vehicles, Kia Chief Executive Song Ho-sung said last week in Spain.  

“The key is how quickly we can respond once tariffs are set,” he said.

On Wednesday, the US government imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico as announced, but President Trump granted a one-month duty exemption for cars from the two countries upon requests from US automakers that operate auto-making plants in the neighboring nations.  

Write to Jung-Eun Shin at newyearis@hankyung.com


Sookyung Seo edited this article.