Hyundai Motor "Producing HEVs at US Electric Vehicle Plant"... Also Developing Compact HEV Systems

Hyundai Motor Company announced that it will produce hybrid vehicles at its electric vehicle-only factory in the United States, scheduled to begin operations in October this year. It also mentioned plans to develop a hybrid system for compact models and establish a hybrid lineup across all vehicle types.

On the 25th, Lee Seung-jo, Head of Hyundai Motor's Planning and Finance Division, stated during the Q1 2024 earnings conference call, "We plan to invest in facilities to enable hybrid production at the electric vehicle-only factory (HMGMA) being built in Georgia, USA," adding, "To respond to the increasing demand for hybrids, we will add factory equipment to accommodate hybrid models."

He continued, "Until now, hybrids were only available in mid- to large-sized models, but we are currently developing a hybrid system that can be installed in compact models," and added, "We plan to equip a system that allows hybrids to be installed across the entire lineup."

Santa Fe Hybrid [Photo by Hyundai Motor Company]

As of the first quarter of this year, Hyundai's global hybrid sales reached approximately 98,000 units, a 17% increase compared to the same period last year. In particular, looking at the sales share by region, the proportion of hybrids (including plug-in hybrids) in the domestic market accounted for 21% of total sales, a significant increase of 5.7 percentage points year-over-year.

Hyundai's global hybrid sales target for this year is about 480,000 units, a 28% increase compared to the previous year. The target was raised by 100,000 units from last year. Lee said, "There are 14,000 unsold Santa Fe hybrids in the domestic market alone," and added, "We will make multifaceted efforts to resolve the supply shortage situation."