In the last few years, there has been a lot of ups and downs in demand for electric vehicles (EV). These changes are forcing automobile companies to change their strategies. Hyundai, who is famous for vehicles like its Ioniq 5 and corner Electric, recently stopped EV production at the Ulsan plant in South Korea for some time. I think this decision has been taken due to weak demand and US new import tariffs. This step of Hyundai is completely different from Tesla's aggressive strategy in which production is done on a large scale. I think Hyundai has chosen the path full of caution.
Tesla has always maintained his reign in the EV market. Its strategy has been to make more and more vehicles and reduce the prices and make your grip in the market. But recently reported that Tesla's sales fell by 13%, which is probably his biggest quarterly decline. This is not only because of the increasing competition, but some customers are also angry with Tesla CEO Elon Musk's political activities. On the other hand, Hyundai has chosen a path in which it increases production according to demand. I find this method more intelligent because there is less fear of loss in it.
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Hyundai decided to stop production, especially in big markets like Europe, Canada and America due to low demand for EV. Yonhap News reported that Hyundai planned to stop production of Aynic 5 and Kona Electric in its Ulsan plant in the last week of April. In addition, Trump's new 25% import tariff in the US has increased the difficulties for foreign car makers like Hyundai. These tariffs make vehicles like the Corner Electric coming from Korea more expensive. Hyundai is now giving new offers to woo customers, which is not an easy task.
Hyundai's method is completely opposite to Tesla. Tesla had partnered with other companies to promote his supercharger network and NACS Standard. Hyundai also decided to adopt Tesla's NACS in 2023, but now she is retreating from it. Now she is focusing on her charging infrastructure and E-GMP platform. I think this decision gives Hyundai more freedom and helps to control the cost. This flexibility is also necessary amidst so much ups and downs in the market.
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Nevertheless, Hyundai has not completely turned his face to EV. In 2024, it sold 44,400 Ioniq 5 and 12,264 Ioniq 6 in the US. The sales of the Ioniq 5 were 31% higher than the previous year, although the Ioniq 6 decreased by 6%. Hyundai has started production of Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 in its metaplant in Georgia, which promotes local production for the US market. Also, the company launched new models with Tesla-style charging ports and made the chargepoint charger standard. All this shows that Hyundai is ready to invest in EV for a long time, just avoiding Tesla's risky strategies.
Finally, Hyundai's stitched by Tesla's methods is a thought-and-assured step. Hyundai chose flexibility and cost control, not competing to reduce prices like Tesla and increase production. According to me, this strategy will not only save Hyundai from financial difficulties, but will also give him a strong position in the EV market in the future. As the EV industry is changing, this method of Hyundai can also become an example for the rest of the car makers, who want to do their planning according to the truth of the market.