Hyundai Motor is under pressure to meet its zero-emission vehicle targets for the year. While the sales share of electrified vehicles, including hybrids, is nearing 40%, the proportion of electric and hydrogen vehicles recognized by the government as zero-emission is only in the low 10% range. If current sales trends continue, the company is expected to incur a contribution fee of approximately 22.1 billion won this year.
According to industry sources on September 22, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has set the zero-emission vehicle target for automakers with an average annual sales volume of over 100,000 units in the past three years at 24% of annual sales. The overall target for low-emission vehicles is set at 28%. Manufacturers that fail to meet these targets will be required to pay a contribution fee based on the shortfall, which is currently 1.5 million won per vehicle.
From January to August this year, Hyundai's domestic sales totaled 399,159 units. Among these, the share of zero-emission vehicles, which includes electric vehicles (50,473 units) and hydrogen vehicles (4,051 units), stands at only 13.7%. Although 104,761 hybrid vehicles were sold, each hybrid counts as 0.3 of a zero-emission vehicle, translating to 31,428 units. A simple calculation of the recognized zero-emission vehicle sales from January to August yields a total of 85,952 units, or about 21.5% of the total.
If the current sales trend continues through the end of the year, Hyundai is projected to sell a total of 598,740 units, with the zero-emission vehicle target amounting to approximately 143,697 units. Annualizing the recognized zero-emission vehicle sales would result in about 128,928 units, falling short of the target by 14,769 units. Based on the current contribution fee of 1.5 million won per vehicle, Hyundai's estimated financial burden for this year would be around 22.15 billion won.
In contrast, Kia is in a more favorable position. Of Kia's domestic sales from January to August (390,596 units), 96,429 were electric vehicles, accounting for 24.7% of total sales.
The differing fortunes of Hyundai and Kia are attributed to their respective eco-friendly vehicle lineups. Hyundai has expanded its eco-friendly vehicle sales based on a variety of hybrid models, while Kia has increased its share of zero-emission vehicles through the sales of compact and mid-size electric models such as the EV3, EV4, and EV5.
Hyundai plans to boost electric vehicle sales to increase its share of zero-emission vehicles by December. The company may enhance promotions, such as electric vehicle purchase incentives, to compensate for the shortfall in sales as the year-end sales season approaches.
The challenge lies ahead. The government plans to raise the zero-emission vehicle target from 24% this year to 28% in 2027, 36% in 2028, and 43% in 2029, with a goal of reaching 50% by 2030. The contribution fee will also increase, doubling from the current 1.5 million won per vehicle to 3 million won starting in 2028.
An industry insider stated, "For Hyundai, the potential burden this year is less of a concern than the challenge of meeting long-term targets. By 2030, half of new vehicles must be zero-emission, necessitating a much more aggressive increase in electric vehicle sales."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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