Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Hyundai Motor chief's EV first strategy shines in global market
Chung Euisun, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, speaks with reporters at Genesis House, a showcase center for the group's Genesis luxury vehicle brand, in New York, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Hyundai Motor Group's electric vehicles (EVs) have been sweeping prestigious awards in the global automotive industry with their superior performance and distinguished design, according to company officials, Thursday. They say such a good response was possible as their Chairman Chung Euisun set a strategy to become a “first mover” in the EV era by developing an EV-only platform and offering technologies different from competitors.
On April 13, Hyundai Motor said its EV IONIQ 5 won three big awards at the prestigious 2022 World Car Awards ― World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year and World Car Design of the Year.
The vehicle, the first model of Hyundai Motor's dedicated battery EV brand IONIQ, won the awards after being recognized by a jury of 102 automotive journalists from 33 countries. Not only the IONIQ 5, but also Kia's EV6 won the European Car of the Year award in February.
With those wins, Hyundai Motor Group won big at two of the world's top three car awards. The World Car Awards and the European Car of the Year awards are considered the highest-authority awards in car industry, along with the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards.
Regarding the three awards won by the IONIQ 5, Chairman Chung told Korean reporters in New York, Wednesday (local time), “The goal is not to win awards. Our goal is to keep striving for the betterment of humanity.” Chung held the meeting at Genesis House, a newly opened showcase center for the group's Genesis luxury brand.
When asked how the company will respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the conflict between the United States and China, Chung stressed “the international situation is unstable and difficult to predict,” and added “We should always move quickly with scenarios.”
In regard to the expectations for the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, which declared its intent to foster a business-friendly environment, the chairman said, “I think it's up to us in any government. We are asking the government to help us hard because we will work hard.”
Luc Donckerwolke, chief creative officer of Hyundai Motor Group's Genesis luxury brand, introduces the brand's new concept model Genesis X Speedium Coupe at Genesis House in New York, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
The industry view is that the automotive group's robust leadership in the EV industry could be secured based on the chairman's strong will and strategy.
In preparation for the popularization of EVs, Chairman Chung encouraged employees, saying, “We were fast followers in the era of internal combustion engine-powered cars, but in the era of EVs, all companies are pretty much at the same starting line. We should become the first movers that lead the global EV market with overwhelming performance and value that can surpass our rivals.”
First movers in EV market
Chung also has stressed the need for taking EVs as an opportunity and has pushed for personnel and organizational changes to take an early lead in the emerging market.
The chairman's moves have led to the successful development of the E-GMP, the automotive group's first EV-only modular platform. “The E-GMP platform was embodied under the premise of Chairman Chung's direction to secure a dedicated platform beyond prominent car brands,” an official of the automotive group said.
“In particular, the chairman actively ordered the application of new technologies that other companies have not tried. This was based on his belief that the automotive group should deliver differentiated value to consumers by using innovative technologies in the E-GMP that could not be experienced in existing electric vehicles.”
As a result, new technologies, such as an ultra-fast charging system that can charge 80 percent of the battery in 18 minutes, were able to be featured in the group's EVs.
As sales of EV models begin in earnest this year, global sales of Hyundai Motor Group's EVs are expected to build significant momentum.
The automotive group is confident that the sales of its EV models this year will be increased significantly. During the January-March period, the group sold 76,801 EVs in the global market, up 73 percent from 44,460 EVs in the same period of 2021. With this pace, the automotive group thinks it can sell over 3 million EVs in 2030 to have a 12 percent share in the global EV market.