Ionic 5
– Hyundai Motor Company Ioniq 5, which entered into a pre-contract on the 25th of last month, continued to be’completed’ in Europe following the domestic market. In response to the reaction beyond expectations, the automobile industry is drawing attention to the increase in production of Ioniq 5.
Booked 10,000 people in Europe, more than three times the target
“I’m worried that the quantity will not match, I need overtime”
– Hyundai Motor Company’s European subsidiary (HME) announced on the 28th of last month that as a result of receiving a pre-contract for 3,000 units of the initial quantity of Ioniq 5 on the 25th of last month (local time), more than three times the target 10,000 people received it. It also added that the number of purchase inquiries reached 236,000. The advance deposit in Europe was 1,000 euros (about 1.36 million won), more than 10 times (100,000 won) compared to Korea.
Andreas Christoph Hoffman, vice president of product and marketing at HME, said, “Ioniq 5 has proven to be attractive to European consumers with many advantages. Thanks to its high interest, it will become a new powerhouse in its class.”
Korea also set a record for pre-contract box office success. According to Hyundai Motor Company, Ioniq 5 sold out about 26,500, the sales target of this year, for two days from the 25th of last month when the pre-contract began. This year, Ionic 5’s domestic and overseas sales target is 70,000 units. It plans to release 40% in domestic and European markets, and 20% in North America.
When Ionic 5 is sold out at home and abroad, the possibility of production increase is predicted. However, Hyundai Motor’s labor and management agreed that it will not be easy. A Hyundai Motor Company official said, “Considering the battery supply chain, it will not be easy to increase production.” Another reason it is difficult to decide to increase production is that EV sales follow the government’s limited subsidy policy.
At the Ulsan plant site, it predicted that 70,000 units per year would be tight. An official from the Hyundai Motors union said, “It was a surprise response to the pre-contracted figures at the site.” It seems that you will need extra work for about 4 days a month.” Ionic 5 is produced at the 2nd line of the 1st plant in Ulsan.
However, there is a view that if the explosive interest continues, it will be possible to increase production to some extent. An official in the battery industry said, “Usually, we supply (battery quantity) additionally up to a few percent of the contracted quantity. Considering the establishment of the supply chain in the early stages, Hyundai Motor Company would have taken a sufficient amount of battery inventory.” Electric vehicles are half of the existing internal combustion locomotives, which have a total number of parts between 30,000 and 50,000.
Earlier, Hyundai Motor Company decided to increase production when the Palisade, launched in late 2018, showed an explosive reaction. However, it took more than half a year for consumers to wait for the car to be delivered because the delivery time was not met. For this reason, the view that the industry will pay more attention to post quality control than to increase production is prevailing.
Reporter Kim Young-joo [email protected] 
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