Lee Min-hyung joined The Korea Times in 2014 and has worked as a journalist mainly in Korea’s finance, tech and automotive industry. He specializes in content creation, breaking news and in-depth analysis currently on transportation and mobility. You can reach him via mhlee@koreatimes.co.kr.
BMW, Audi, Hyundai offer bigger benefits, discounts on EVs to offset battery fire fears
Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 flagship electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor
By Lee Min-hyung
Carmakers struggle to offset EV sales declines with strong promotional campaigns
Major global and domestic carmakers are ramping up their sales incentives for electric vehicles (EVs) to counteract waning consumer interest following a high-profile EV fire involving Mercedes-Benz's EQE sedan.
The heightened fear of EVs exacerbates global carmakers' struggle to overcome a stagnation phase, also known as the chasm, before the widespread adoption of EVs.
They seek to tackle the growing uncertainty by offering big discounts for customers.
Audi Korea has decided to drastically cut the price for its flagship EV model. According to the carmaker, the Audi e-tron 55 quattro sells at 82.56 million won ($60,000) here. This is a discount of 29.5 percent from its factory price. The company also offers a discount of 24.5 percent for other models, such as the e-tron GT quattro.
Starting this month, BMW Korea is also offering a double-digit discount for its EVs to attract more customers away from Mercedes-Benz and other EV makers. The German automaker's iX xDrive 50 EV sedan sells at 135 million won, down 12.9 percent from its factory price. The i7 xDrive 60 higher-end EV comes with a discount of 12.7 percent at 185.9 million won here.
Hyundai Motor provides hotel coupons in Hawaii for those who purchase EVs from the carmaker.
The recent moves are widely seen as part of the carmakers' efforts to counter the ongoing decline in EV sales. According to data from the nation's used car sales platform, K Car, the number of used EVs up for sale drastically increased by 184 percent in the first week of August compared to the week before.
The catastrophic EQE fire that erupted on Aug. 1 has rapidly deteriorated customers' sentiment toward EVs.
Following the incident, major carmakers are jumping on the bandwagon of sharing the source of batteries for their EVs.
This reflects the growing calls for them to do so, as the Mercedes-Benz EV came under severe criticism for equipping the pricey vehicle with a battery from a lesser-known Chinese company.
"Customers' concerns about EVs show little sign of abating anytime soon, so carmakers have no choice but to cut EV prices to minimize their potential EV sales decline throughout this year," an official from a carmaker said.
According to data from market tracker, Car Is You, the number of newly-registered EVs in Korea reached 80,613 between January and July this year, down 13.4 percent from the previous year.