While a number of carmakers are reporting declining demand for their electric vehicles, Hyundai and Kia remain very confident that their EVs will grow in popularity throughout the United States.
While recently speaking with reporters at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Hyundai global chief operating officer Jose Munoz noted that their EV investments have been accelerated and the firm is not being held back by demand but rather by supply.
“I am still very bullish on the battery electrics,” he told Reuters. “Our investments in the battery electric plant in Savannah (Georgia) move on. So we’re pushing as much as we possibly can to get it ready by October next year. (Investments) are not on track. They are accelerated. We are pulling ahead. Based on what I see, I need more. If I had more capacity today, I could sell more cars.”
This sentiment is shared by Kia America chief operating officer Steven Center. While speaking in LA, he also said that demand for the firm’s EVs is increasing and that its expansion into new segments will further fuel this growth.
Read: Hyundai Rockets To Second Place In U.S. EV Sales, Despite No Tax Credit
“We’re still growing organically despite the weather outside,” Center said. “We’re not seeing a slowdown. All things being equal, as they say in economics, we’ll continue to grow in volume, and the EV side will do most of the growing.”
Hyundai and Kia have reason to be confident. Recent sales data reveals that the Hyundai Motor Group was the second best-selling manufacturer of EVs in the United States during the January-September period this year with a 7.5% share of the market. Yes, that is nothing compared to Tesla’s 57.4% share of the EV market but it does place Hyundai/Kia above Chevrolet and Ford, despite its vehicles not being manufactured in the U.S. and ineligible for the $7,500 EV tax credit.
