[Exclusive] "Proactive Response to Electric Vehicle Customer Inconvenience"... Hyundai Motor Gathers Engineers Worldwide

June-July 'Global EV Tech Lab' Event
Enhancing Maintenance Skills to Address Customer Inconvenience

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun is holding a meeting with correspondents at the Genesis House in New York, USA, on the 13th (local time). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hyundai Motor Group is gathering engineers and maintenance experts from major regions around the world where it sells electric vehicles. This is because the recent rapid increase in electric vehicle adoption is expected to lead to a significant rise in maintenance demand going forward.

Since the level of vehicle maintenance technology and service plays a decisive role in customer satisfaction in local markets, the purpose is to enhance maintenance capabilities to reduce customer inconvenience. Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group has actively encouraged this initiative, believing that it is important to proactively prepare countermeasures before problems arise in the rapidly changing global electric vehicle market to seize the initiative.

According to industry sources on the 29th, Hyundai Motor is preparing the ‘Global Electric Vehicle (EV) Tech Lab’ event at the Cheonan Global Learning Center (GLC) over June and July. This event will bring together key engineers and maintenance personnel from major countries where Hyundai and Genesis electric vehicles are sold. Through seminars and workshops, trends related to electric vehicle maintenance in each country will be shared, along with opportunities to exchange the latest diagnostic equipment, systems, and technologies. The Cheonan GLC is one of Hyundai Motor’s training centers, mainly used as an educational venue for employees working on the front lines of customer contact such as sales and maintenance.

Hyundai Motor has been strengthening its maintenance business organization for the electric vehicle sector since the beginning of this year. This is due to the rapid increase in electric vehicle adoption in key markets including domestic, Europe, and North America. From the perspective of the entire product lifecycle, automobiles are considered products for which post-sale maintenance and management are more important than any other goods. This is because they are directly related to passenger and pedestrian safety and are the biggest factors determining product satisfaction and repeat purchases. Especially for electric vehicles, as widespread adoption has just begun and the number of owners is increasing, there is a higher possibility that unexpected issues may surface at any time from the perspective of developers and manufacturers.

To hone maintenance capabilities specialized for electric vehicles, Hyundai Motor Company recently introduced the 'Hyundai Electric Vehicle Master Certification Program' in Korea, derived from its existing certification programs. An engineer who received the 'e-Master' grade is servicing Hyundai's first dedicated electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5.

While internal combustion engine vehicles have decades of well-established maintenance infrastructure densely spread not only domestically but worldwide, electric vehicles have yet to reach that level. Although motors are known to be more durable than engines, concerns still remain regarding the battery, which is a core component of electric vehicles. Along with the change in the powertrain, the significant increase in electronic devices controlling the vehicle compared to the past is another aspect that needs to be addressed.

For conventional vehicles, if a problem occurs, there are sufficient manuals allowing each country to resolve issues independently. Electric vehicles also have manuals, but since their adoption is still in the early stages, the possibility of unexpected problems arising cannot be ruled out. As these vehicles feature new systems, this event is interpreted as an effort to raise maintenance capabilities accordingly. A Hyundai Motor official said, "In Korea, even if an electric vehicle has a problem, the headquarters, research institutes developing the vehicles, and large-scale maintenance organizations gather to respond quickly, but overseas responses can be relatively slower. Building a global network in advance will enable prompt responses."

Hyundai Motor Group is praised for responding quickly to the electric vehicle transition in major markets such as Europe and North America and appropriately coping with the changing market conditions. Considering that it ranked 5th globally in sales last year, with only two companies ahead based on sales in China alone, it is currently within the top three. When the Kona electric vehicle fire issue, which sold significantly in Europe and North America, arose, Hyundai responded by recalling and replacing all batteries. Chairman Chung Eui-sun has consistently emphasized, "If we were fast followers in the internal combustion engine era, we must become first movers in the electric vehicle era."