Hyundai Motor and Kia Launch Full-Scale Operation of US Charging Alliance... Kickoff of Two-Track Strategy

Hyundai, Toyota, BMW and Others Form 'IONNA' Charging Alliance
IONNA Officially Launches Service in the U.S.
Unmanned Stores at Charging Stations Operated in Collaboration with Amazon
Hyundai Motor Group Adopts Both IONNA and Tesla Charging Systems
Enhancing Charging Convenience to Target the U.S. EV Market

Hyundai Motor Group has officially launched the U.S. service of IONNA, an electric vehicle (EV) charging alliance formed in partnership with Toyota, BMW, GM, and others. Through a two-track strategy supporting both the IONNA charging network and Tesla Superchargers, the group aims to enhance convenience by enabling charging at all types of stations across the U.S., thereby expanding the market share of electric vehicles in the country.

On the 4th, Hyundai announced that IONNA, the North American EV charging service alliance, held a launch event for its ultra-fast charging service at its headquarters in North Carolina, USA. At the event, IONNA announced the official operation of four EV charging stations, including the ‘Apex Rechargery’ near its headquarters, as well as a customer experience research lab focused on EV charging technology.

IONNA is a North American ultra-fast EV charging service alliance involving eight automakers, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia, Toyota, GM, Honda, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis.

IONNA plans to build a charging infrastructure sufficient for traveling across the U.S. by electric vehicles. It aims to install 1,000 EV chargers nationwide by the end of this year and 30,000 chargers by 2030. Since its official launch in February 2024, IONNA has already secured contracts for more than 100 charging station sites within a year. To develop safe charging technology, IONNA has conducted over 4,400 charging tests on more than 80 EV models, with the total charging power used in tests reaching 63 MW.

Another distinctive strategy of IONNA is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in unmanned convenience stores. In collaboration with Amazon, IONNA plans to operate cashier-less stores (Just Walk Out) at some charging stations. These convenience stores use AI-based computer vision technology to automatically charge the pre-registered payment method when customers simply take items and leave.

Iona Apex charging station image. Provided by Hyundai Motor Company.

Through IONNA, Hyundai Motor Group supports not only the CCS charging standard but also Tesla’s proprietary charging standard, NACS (North American Charging Standard), in North America. Starting this year, Hyundai will provide NACS adapters free of charge to North American customers to use Tesla Superchargers, and will produce the Ioniq 5 equipped with Tesla-style charging ports in the U.S. As a result, Hyundai and Kia vehicles will be able to charge using all charging standards available in the U.S. This strategy aims to maximize customer convenience and increase market share in the EV sector.

As of January this year, there are approximately 50,000 fast chargers installed in the U.S., of which 29,000 are Tesla Superchargers. This means about two-thirds of all fast chargers are Tesla chargers. Therefore, automakers including Hyundai had no choice but to adopt Tesla’s charging standard in the short term to enter the North American EV market.

However, Hyundai Motor Group is simultaneously supporting CCS chargers through IONNA. In the long term, it plans to deploy more than 100,000 chargers by 2030, signaling its intention not to lose leadership in charging standards within the U.S. The battle for dominance in charging standards is directly linked to market share in the U.S. EV market.

As of the fourth quarter of last year, Hyundai Motor Group held an 11.4% share of the U.S. EV market, ranking third after Tesla (44.4%) and GM (12.6%). Hyundai plans to launch the electric flagship sport utility vehicle (SUV) Ioniq 9 in the U.S. this year. This model will be produced at Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated U.S. EV plant, Meta Plant America (HMGMA).