Hyundai Pausing EV Production At Home Due To Slow Demand: Report

• Hyundai will reportedly pause the production of the Ioniq 5 and Kona EVs at the Ulsan plant in South Korea.
• Weakening demand in certain markets is the main reason.

Hyundai Motor will temporarily halt the production of the all-electric Ioniq 5 and Kona models at its Ulsan complex in South Korea, according to the Yonhap news agency citing unnamed industry sources.

The automaker plans to halt operations on one of the production lines for a week starting on April 24. The temporary shutdown is caused by weakening demand in Europe, Canada and the United States. 

It’s worth noting that Hyundai also assembles the Ioniq 5, as well as the Ioniq 9 SUV, at its Metaplant in Georgia. However, the Kona Electric is shipped from South Korea to the United States and other markets around the world, with the Ulsan plant exporting a big chunk of its production. Furthermore, the EV fires that made headlines last year in Korea soured people’s trust in the technology.

In Europe, Hyundai had a pretty rough time last year, at least when it comes to battery-powered cars. The Ioniq 5 crossover and Ioniq 6 sedan failed to crack the top 20 list of best-selling EVs, while the Kona Electric managed a somewhat respectable finish in 14th place, with 36,450 units delivered. Europe’s EV market declined slightly in 2024, with several governments diminishing or completely cutting their EV subsidy programs. 

In the United States, Hyundai’s performance was better. It sold 44,400 Ioniq 5s (up 31% year-over-year) and 12,264 Ioniq 6s (down 6%). The company doesn’t separate the sales numbers for the electric and combustion versions of the Kona.

Stateside, Hyundai assured its customers that it will not raise prices until June 2. The decision comes after the Trump administration slapped a 25% tariff on imported cars last month, only to postpone it for 90 days.

The automaker has tried to boost sales with zero-interest financing in North America and down payment assistance in markets like Germany and the United Kingdom, but it hasn’t worked as well as the company had hoped, according to Yonhap’s sources.

This is the second manufacturing pause at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant. In February, the automaker suspended EV assembly for five days because demand wasn’t up to par.