EconomyFinancialBeware Tesla: This company is already the second largest...

Beware Tesla: This company is already the second largest seller of electric cars in the US and the same could happen in Mexico

Tesla, which for the last decade has remained the largest seller of electric cars in the world, sees in the rearview mirror other competitors dangerously close. The South Korean brands, Kia and Hyundai, which together with the premium Genesis make up the Hyundai Group, have overtaken other players such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Nissan in the US market to the right.

Earlier this year, both brands launched two new battery-only cars, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its sibling, the Kia EV6. Both quickly rose to the top of the sales charts, beating the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Bolt, Volkswagen ID. 4 and all other non-Tesla electric vehicles on the market.

Until June, both brands sold 26,260 electric cars in the US market, according to data from Cox Automotive, jointly surpassing what was purchased by 17,675 drivers in the first six months of the year.

“That bodes well for things to come in the future. The brand has set out to become the leader in mobility and electrification,” says Horacio Chávez, CEO of Kia in Mexico.

Tesla still sells far more EVs in the United States (about 250,000 in the first half), but it took the company a decade to deliver as many units as Hyundai and Kia have in just a few months. Even Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, has been impressed.

The two South Korean brands launched their electric models at a time when the adoption of this technology is picking up in the US market, thanks to an increase in gasoline prices – which in March exceeded the barrier of 4 dollars per gallon, fueled by the war between Russia and Ukraine – and by growing concern about the climate. Last week several fires devastated several hectares of the west coast, while torrential rains caused havoc in the southeast of that country.

Although in Mexico the race for electrification is progressing at a much slower pace than in the neighboring market to the north, before 2030 it has not gone unnoticed by South Korean brands. Especially for Kia.

“In recent weeks we have decided to accelerate the analysis for everything that has been said and for all the announcements of the brands that are already thinking about electrification,” says Chávez, general director of Kia in Mexico. “So I think we are going to end up advancing our electric introduction plan a little. We are going to try to pull it as much as possible, I don’t know if one or two years, “he adds.

Kia recently renewed its Niro hybrid model and a few years ago it did performance tests with some electric units of the Soul EV, a subcompact SUV that was never marketed in Mexico due to the lack of charging infrastructure and incentives.

Although Kia is still not clear when it could launch its first fully electric model in the country, it has already begun to renew all its agencies to get them ready for when electrification begins.

For now, the chip shortage has limited deliveries of Kia’s electric units in the United States. The current waiting list for the EV6 in that market is about six months. But as inventory rebuilds — which is expected to happen in 2023 — and a second electric model hits the South Korean brand’s sales floors next year, the EV9, Kia will have more inventory to reach more markets.

“We are already getting really serious about this issue and we even want to create a new commercial area to help us with this analysis,” concludes Chávez.

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