Hyundai Sticks To EV Rollout Plans

Hyundai Motor said recently that it would not postpone plans to launch new electric vehicles and was optimistic about the company's prospects for continued growth this year, in contrast to recent moves by rivals to reduce EV output.

Electric vehicle sales are increasing rapidly, but not as quickly as carmakers predicted, due to high interest rates, Reuters reported.

"We do not plan to dramatically reduce EV production or our line-up due to likely near-term hurdles as we believe EV sales will grow longer term," Seo Gang Hyun, an executive vice president at the South Korean automaker, told an earnings briefing for analysts.

The Hyundai Motor Group, which includes the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands, announced in April that it intends to launch 31 electric vehicles by 2030. This includes the upcoming release of the Ioniq 7 SUV.

Seo predicted that Hyundai's EV sales would be slightly lower than expected next year, but that the automaker had the production flexibility to increase output of petrol engine cars if demand shifted that way, and that the impact on overall sales would be minimal.

Hyundai reported a net profit of 3.2 trillion won in the third quarter, more than doubling its year-ago figure and exceeding an LSEG SmartEstimate of 2.9 trillion won, thanks to a favourable exchange rate.