Hyundai Motor and Kia will speed up their ongoing portfolio restructuring to focus more on hybrid cars, as former U.S. President Donald Trump displays a strong anti-electric vehicle (EV) stance amid a growing likelihood of him winning another term as president for the world’s largest economy, according to analysts, Sunday.
Trump’s pledge contrasts with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the primary policy initiative of the Joe Biden administration. One of the key aspects of the IRA is to offer increased tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs) that use batteries with key materials extracted or processed within the U.S. or in countries with free trade agreements with the U.S.
However, Trump is stepping up his rhetoric to scrap the IRA, calling Biden’s pro-eco-friendly vehicle drive a “green new scam.”
This bodes ill for the two Korean automakers whose strategic focus has in recent years been on increasing their EV market share in the U.S. Market analysts expected the companies to redirect 스포츠 their sales focus toward hybrid vehicles and ones powered by internal combustion engines amid the growing risks of a Trump presidency.
“Even if Trump pushes ahead with a pledge to abolish EV subsidies, the Korean carmakers will be able to tackle the upcoming risks by mixing production for hybrid cars (at their EV manufacturing facility in the U.S.),” Hana Securities analyst Song Sun-jae said.