Hyundai launches $18,000 EV in Japan to penetrate EV-wary market

By Kantaro Komiya

CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) -South Korea's Hyundai Motor (OTC:HYMTF ) said on Friday it would introduce the cheapest compact electric car in Japan, to penetrate a market dominated by local giants with established petrol and hybrid vehicle technologies.

The Japan launch of the Hyundai Inster follows attempts by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) and other foreign brands to enter a country seeing a slow take-up of EVs. With the Inster, Hyundai will take a low-price strategy akin to China's leading EV maker, BYD (SZ:002594 ).

The 2.85 million yen ($18,000) entry-model price tag will be the lowest for a compact electric car in Japan, below the 3.63 million yen BYD set in 2023 with its Dolphin.

Inster, which made its debut in Europe last year after launching in South Korea as Casper Electric, will be delivered to Japanese customers starting around May, Hyundai Mobility Japan CEO Toshiyuki Shimegi said at a news conference during the Tokyo Auto Salon motor show.

In the Japanese ultra-compact, limited-power "kei car" category, Nissan (OTC:NSANY ) Motor's Sakura is sold at 2.60 million yen and is the most popular EV in the country.

But even Sakura had fewer than 23,000 sales last year, down nearly 40% from 2023, an industry tally showed, highlighting the lack of popularity of EVs in a Japanese passenger car market that has roughly 4 million annual vehicle sales.

Last year, Hyundai sold only 607 vehicles in Japan, while BYD sold 2,223. Tesla did not disclose its Japan sales.

"Inster is our core product to win Japanese customers' recognition," Shimegi said, adding that it help Hyundai meet its goal of boosting Japan sales tenfold in the next five years.



Hyundai, which forms the world's third-largest auto group with Kia, re-entered Japan's passenger car market in 2022 with only electric and fuel cell vehicles, after exiting in 2009 due to low sales in a country dominated by Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM ), Honda (NYSE:HMC ) Motor and other Japanese auto majors.

($1 = 158.0000 yen)

Source: Investing.com

Последние публикации
Oklo target nearly doubled at Wedbush on AI-driven demand for nuclear energy
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Crypto markets lose steam after Trump's first policy move
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Combination of Google's TPU-DeepMind units may be worth $700 bn - DA Davidson
24.01.2025 - 18:00
British American Tobacco, Altria shares rise after menthol ban proposal dropped
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Morocco stocks higher at close of trade; Moroccan All Shares up 0.34%
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Commerzbank says no talks with UniCredit until specific proposal made
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Venture Global aims for $64 billion valuation at debut in test for energy IPOs
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Intuitive Machines stock surges on NASA contract award
24.01.2025 - 18:00
International Paper's $7.2 billion acquisition of DS Smith gets EU approval
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Short-term stock optimism soars among retail investors, AAII survey shows
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Venture Global shares likely to open up to 6% above IPO price
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Intuitive Surgical, American Express Stir Friday's Market Cap Stock Movers
24.01.2025 - 18:00
BMW joins Chinese EV makers in filing EU court challenge to tariffs
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Turkey stocks lower at close of trade; BIST 100 down 0.08%
24.01.2025 - 18:00
Diageo stock jumps on possible Guinness sale
24.01.2025 - 18:00

© Analytic DC. All Rights Reserved.

new
Анализ рынка Как повлият завтра отчет NFP на курс доллара США?