José Muñoz Hyundai Motor(005380), president, said the global electric vehicle chasm (a temporary demand slump) is over. He judged that recovery is showing even in North America, where EV growth has been slowest, with only the pace differing by market. On the controversy over the new Avante's price, he said high demand has been introduced alongside raw materials and technology expenses, and added that if price adjustments are needed for future new models, the company will take action.
On the 26th, at a press briefing during the "2026 CEO Investor Day" held at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, Muñoz said, "There is no longer an EV chasm in the global market; only the pace differs by country."
That day, Hyundai Motor unveiled a plan to increase EV sales in Europe to 420,000 units by 2030. That is more than four times last year's sales. To that end, it decided to officially launch the Europe-dedicated EV "Ioniq 3" next month.
Muñoz said, "Europe clearly does not have an EV chasm," adding, "We will continue to roll out new models, including the Ioniq 3." He also said, "China is the largest market, with EVs holding a 50% share, and EVs are also showing growth in North America," adding, "By introducing the Ioniq 5 as a robotaxi to Waymo, an Autonomous Driving joint venture, and deploying it worldwide, the EV chasm will gradually disappear."
On the new Avante's price, he explained, "Raw material prices have been rising for a long time, becoming one factor for price increases, and there were logistics challenges due to geopolitical issues," adding, "It is also true that expenses rose as premium technologies were installed. Technologies we could not have imagined five years ago are now onboard, and as vehicles get larger and better materials are used, these factors have affected prices."
The new Avante's gasoline 2.0 model and hybrid 1.6 model were set at 23.98 million won and 30.42 million won (prices before eco-friendly tax benefits), up 3.36 million won and 3.87 million won, respectively, from the previous models, sparking controversy over high prices.
Muñoz said, "The Avante is among the products with very high demand, and every region is competing to secure Avante supply," adding, "That outcome is reflected in the price." He continued, "Prices are governed by the market and are adjusted according to the competitive landscape," adding, "If we judge that price adjustments are needed in the market, we will take necessary measures, such as adjusting in-vehicle content or incentives."
Regarding the absence of mid- to long-term investment plans in the day's announcement, he said, "There is no change to previously disclosed investment plans," adding, "We previously announced a 125 trillion won investment plan in Korea. Korea is a very important market, and there is no change to this investment plan."