Hyundai to suspend Ioniq 5, Kona Electric production amid slowing EV demand

Hyundai Motor will halt operations of Line 12 at its Ulsan Plant 1 in South Korea from Feb 24 to 28 to adjust production volumes amid sluggish domestic sales and declining orders

Seoul: Hyundai Motor will temporarily suspend production of its Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric models, as weakening electric vehicle (EV) demand continues to impact sales, according to industry sources on Friday.

According to the sources, Hyundai Motor will halt operations of Line 12 at its Ulsan Plant 1 in South Korea from Feb 24 to 28 to adjust production volumes amid sluggish domestic sales and declining orders, reports Yonhap news agency.

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The line is used in producing the Ioniq 5 and the Kona Electric. Hyundai Motor sold only 75 Ioniq 5 units last month domestically, with total domestic sales for 2024 reaching around 16,600 units, falling short of market expectations.

The automaker has recently introduced discounts and other incentive schemes to stimulate demand. Industry experts note the cooling EV market, combined with policy uncertainties under the second Donald Trump administration in the United States, could lead to a prolonged global demand slowdown.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor saw its sales in the United States climb 15 per cent from a year ago in January, marking its biggest sales for the month to date.

Hyundai Motor’s US sales reached 54,503 units last month, compared with 47,543 units sold in the same month last year, according to the automaker.

The on-year growth was driven by a 74 percent surge in sales of hybrid models and a 15 percent increase in sales of electric vehicles (EVs), with the Santa Fe hybrid EV (HEV), Tucson HEV, Ioniq 5 and 6 EVs all posting record sales for January.

Kia, Hyundai’s sister company and South Korea’s second-largest carmaker, also saw US sales rise 12 percent on-year to 57,007 units in January, according to the company. It marked Kia’s record US sales for January.

The company attributed the increase in sales to its lineup of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and solid sales of the new K4 sedan.