It is expected that South Korea’s automotive market will be very busy in the upcoming year as around 60 new cars are scheduled to be released. Because one out of five new cars is going to be an electric vehicle, the year 2021 is also seen as the first year for an electrification era.
According to a list of new cars that are scheduled to be released by domestic and foreign automakers in 2021 obtained by the Electronic Times on Wednesday, around 60 new cars are scheduled to be available in the South Korean market in 2021. Although the number is smaller than this year when around 80 new cars have been released, many new electric vehicles with competitive edge are included in the next year’s group of new cars and they are expected to promote a huge growth in South Korea’s market for eco-friendly cars.
While there were only four new electric vehicles released this year, there will be twelve new electric vehicles in 2021. When the four new vehicles that were released this year are included, consumers will be able to select between 30 different electric vehicles in 2021.
New electric vehicles that will be released in 2021 will have drastically improved performance as they are based on specific platforms. They provide a range of up to 500 kilometers with a help from development of battery and motor technologies and they can be rapidly charged in less than 20 minutes through high-voltage charging technology.
South Korean automakers have basically decided to go all in with their new electric vehicles. Hyundai Motor Group will be introducing Hyundai Motor Company’s Ioniq 5, Genesis Motor’s JW (project name), and Kia Motors’ CV (project name), which are all based on the group’s electric vehicle platform called E-GMP, one after the other. The group is also preparing an electric vehicle based on Genesis Motor’s G80 called eG80. SsangYong Motor and GM Korea will be introducing Korando-based electric vehicle called E100 (project name) and a new Volt EV and the Bolt EUV respectively. All of these new electric vehicles will be responsible for increasing electric vehicle sales in major automotive markets for their respective manufacturers.
There will also be many different types of electric vehicles. Many of the new electric vehicles will be CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle) that combine strengths of hatchback and SUV as it has become easier for automakers to integrate strengths from different car types due to freedom in design.
Hyundai Motor Company’s new electric vehicle is also classified as a CUV. While Ioniq 5 offers height and wheelbase of 1,600 mm and 3,000 mm and has similar length (4,640 mm) as that of Tucson (4,630 mm) according to specifications introduced by Hyundai Motor Company’s foreign branch, its width (1,890 mm) is similar to that of Santa Fe (1,900 mm) providing the car with a generous size.
Ioniq 5 offers 313 horsepower as its powertrain is mounted with two motors and it can reach 100 km/h from a complete stop in just 5.2 seconds. It has ranges of 450 kilometers and 550 kilometers when it is equipped with a 58 kWh battery and a 73 kWh battery respectively. With a 800V charging system, its battery can be charged anywhere between 20% and 80% in just 15 minutes. The car is also equipped with solar roof that charges the car’s battery through sunlight.
Foreign automakers will also be gearing up for South Korea’s electric vehicle market in the upcoming year. Mercedes-Benz and BMW are preparing to release EQA and EQS and iX and iX3 respectively. Audi, which completely sold the entire initial supply of e-tron this year, will be adding e-tron Sportsback and e-tron GT. Tesla, which has led a foreign electric vehicle trend in South Korea by selling about 10,000 electric vehicles, will be bringing in its compact SUV Model Y.
Although amounts of national subsidies for electric vehicles will be decreased in 2021, the automotive industry is expecting a huge growth in the electric vehicle market as consumers will have a wider range of competitive electric vehicles.
Tens of new cars that have gone through complete changes will also be released in 2021. Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors plan to release Starex and K7 and Sportage that have gone through complete changes respectively. GM Korea plans to sell the new Traverse model and import and sell GM’s full-size SUV Tahoe. On the other hand, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor are expected to face some hardships as they do not have plans to release new cars that will be able to carry their automotive businesses.
In case of foreign automakers, Benz and BMW will release their S Class and 4 series respectively. As the difference in sales between the two companies has been narrowed to about 15,000 units this year, it will be interesting to see which company will be the top foreign automaker based on sales in 2021. Volkswagen, which is trying to popularize its brand in South Korea, is also drawing interest as it plans to release T-Roc and Golf in 2021.
“As new cars are expected to be released consistently in 2021, domestic car sales in 2021 will be similar to that of this year when 1.8 million units are expected to be sold.” said an official from Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. “Number of exports is estimated to be around 2.3 million units, which will be a 20% increase from this year, as the world starts to recover from the global pandemic.”
Staff Reporter Jung, Chiyeon | chiyeon@etnews.com