Hyundai, Kia vehicles excluded from IRA subsidy, shares sink

A Hyundai Motor employee works at its manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Alabama [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor and Kia shares are trading low Tuesday morning as none of their vehicles were included on a list of electric vehicles that will qualify for the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives.

Hyundai is trading about 3 percent lower than its previous closing with Kia falling some 3.3 percent as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday released a list of 16 electric vehicles that will qualify for up to $7,500 in tax credits for vehicles assembled in the North American region, with all of them from U.S. brands.

Hyundai Motor's GV70, which was originally on the list, was excluded due to the recently-announced stricter battery rules.

Hyundai assembles the GV70 at its Alabama plant, but uses Chinese batteries.

Hyundai and Kia are currently building an electric vehicle plant in Georgia, but production won't start until 2025.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]