Hyundai hints at joining the fray next year in Thailand’s growing EV market
South Korea’s Hyundai Motor has clearly indicated it will join Thailand’s growing battery electric vehicle (BEV)market, which is getting more popular with the arrival of US-based Tesla EVs.
Hyundai sent the message by showing its Ioniq 6 mid-size BEV sedan at the Thailand International Motor Expo that ended on December 12.
It was the first time that Hyundai had put on show Ioniq 6 in an Asian market. The Ioniq 6 was unveiled at the 2022 Busan International Motor Show in South Korea. Last month, IONIQ 6 achieved the highest overall rating in the New Car Assessment Programme, including adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection, and safety assistance systems.
During the motor expo, Hyundai also confirmed it would from next year do its own marketing in Thailand via Hyundai Motor (Thailand)'s subsidiary instead of Sojitz (Thailand) Co Ltd that has been distributing Hyundai vehicles in Thailand during the past 15 years.
The display of Ioniq 6 and the announcement that Hyundai would take care of its own market followed the stunning success of Tesla and the impressive booking rate of EVs during the motor expo.
It was reported by several auto news websites that Tesla Thailand had received over 5,000 orders for its Model S sedan EVs and Model Y compact SUVs in just three days after it started receiving the orders on December 7. Each order must be made with a deposit of 4,000 baht, meaning Tesla Thailand has already earned over 20 million in just three days.
The organiser of the motor expo said the EVs made up 15% of all vehicle bookings at the show that saw 36,679 units sold during the 12-day event.
Jun Heo, vice president for sales of Hyundai Asia-Pacific, said Hyundai has invested in building a factory in Indonesia to supply its vehicles to the region.
So far, Hyundai has not revealed whether it plans to build an assembly factory of EVs in Thailand to be eligible for government’s subsidies.
