Hyundai, Kia to hike prices of low-cost EVs for profitability

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest carmaker, plans to increase prices of the existing low-cost electric vehicles in the second half to raise profitability amid the sustained weakness in the global EV industry on sluggish demand.

Kia Corp. is scheduled to release the 2025 model year versions of the subcompact crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) Niro EV and the city car Ray EV in August and October, respectively, according to industry sources on Wednesday.

The smaller automaking unit of South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group reportedly considered raising their prices by hundreds of dollars while adding some preferred functions as standard options.

The hikes are unlikely to affect their sales as those models, which were introduced before the group started using its EV dedicated platform E-GMP, are cheaper than other eco-friendly cars, sources said.

The current models of the Ray EV and the Niro EV are sold at as cheap as 27.8 million won ($20,065) and 48.9 million won with tax incentives in the country, respectively, according to Kia’s website. That compares with the Kia EV6, a mid-size crossover utility vehicle (CUV) that sells for about 52.6 million won at its lowest.

NO PRICE INCREASES FOR LARGER EVS

Kia and its affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. maintained prices when they released enhanced versions of larger EVs such as the IONIQ 5 and the EV6 earlier this year as the global EV market remained sluggish.

Hyundai Motor Co. kept the price tags of all trims of the all-electric CUV IONIQ 5 although the leading South Korean automaker increased its mileage for its enhanced model unveiled in March to 485 kilometers (301 miles) from the previous 458 km. Kia followed the move when it introduced the enhanced version of the EV 6 in May.

The two carmakers also launched new affordable EVs to reboot slowing growth in clean automobiles by attracting budget-conscious.

Kia is poised to sell the EV3, a low-cost electric SUV in the second half and Hyundai Motor Co. plans to roll out the crossover city car Casper Electric.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia have decided to retire sluggish EV models.

Hyundai Motor Co. discontinued the IONIQ5’s standard trim with a shorter driving range in March, while Kia plans to stop the production of the Niro Plus, the purpose-built vehicle trim of the Niro EV, in the fourth quarter.

Write to Jung-Eun Shin at newyearis@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.