Hyundai and Kia sales more than double in Singapore, driven by new factory

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Hyundai and Kia sales more than double in Singapore, driven by new factory

Published: 06 Oct. 2024, 16:41 Updated: 06 Oct. 2024, 16:53

SARAH CHEA
chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, fourth from left, and other executives and government officials take a photo with the Ioniq 5 Robotaxi celebrating the opening of the Global Innovation Center Singapore in Singapore in November last year. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor and Kia's sales more than doubled in Singapore in the first half of the year, largely due to the newly opened manufacturing facility in the western part of the Southeast Asian country last year.

The two automakers sold a total of 1,557 vehicles in Singapore between January and June, a 106 percent surge compared to the same period a year earlier, according to data from Singapore's Land Transport Authority.

Of these, Hyundai's sales soared by 182.6 percent to reach 941 vehicles, while Kia's sales rose by 45.6 percent to 616 vehicles.

Hyundai considers this growth "very meaningful," given that purchasing new cars involves relatively high costs and strict procedures in Singapore.

Under Singapore law, only those who own a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) can own a car for 10 years. COEs are released through open bidding exercises conducted twice a month.

The price for a COE is set at around 100,000 Singaporean dollars ($77,000) for 1.6-liter vehicles. The COE is only valid for 10 years unless renewed.

Ioniq 6s are manufactured at the Global Innovation Center Singapore starting in July. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai believes the sales growth was supported by increased sales of EVs produced at the Global Innovation Center Singapore, a manufacturing hub focused on research and development that opened in November last year. The center has a production capacity of around 30,000 units.

Hyundai produces the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 at the facility.

In January, Kia also launched the EV9 three-row SUV in the Singapore market, followed by the Niro EV and Carnival hybrids.

As part of a government-led initiative, Singapore aims to transition all new vehicles to electric, hybrid and hydrogen-powered options. By 2030, half of the public bus fleet will be converted to electric buses.

Starting in January of next year, diesel-powered taxis will be prohibited from registration.

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