Hyundai and Kia are among the biggest losers of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and are expected to lose EV market share.
The Hyundai Motor Group is the second-best seller of electric vehicles in the United States, thanks largely to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. It sold more than 39,000 EVs across the country between January and July, pipping the likes of Ford, Volkswagen, and General Motors. This, however, might be about to change.
Modifications made to federal EV tax credits as part of the Inflation Reduction Act mean that EVs need to be built in North America in order to be eligible. That’s bad news for Hyundai and Kia as all of their EVs are built in Korea. Some dealers say they are already seeing a change.
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Speaking with Reuters, Florida-based dealer Andrew DiFeo said he has already seen a few potential customers drop Hyundai EVs as a preference.
“If all things are equal and if I buy this one I get a $7,500 tax credit and if I buy that one I don’t, I love you Hyundai but I’m going to go with the one where I can get a tax credit,” he said.
It’s not like Hyundai isn’t investing heavily in North America. In fact, it has already committed to building a $5.5 billion EV plant in Georgia, a move that Biden thanked the carmaker for making, adding that “we will not let you down.”
“So much for not letting us down,” a senior Hyundai official said. “It’s a big mess.”
South Korean officials recently met with their U.S. counterparts this week to express their concerns. Hyundai Motor Group chairman Euison Chung was also in Washington last week.
It is understood that officials from South Korea have asked the Biden administration to postpone the new rules until the completion of its factory in 2025. It is also thought that the tax credit changes may violate the U.S.-South Korea free trade agreement.
“Our U.S. EV factory plan was to get subsidies in light of the growing EV market in the United States… the new law negatively and directly affects us,” an unnamed Hyundai official added.