35,000 people. If you only look at the numbers, you may not feel it. If so, how about thinking like this? Sadly, it looks like we can’t see it now, but just a few years ago we used to visit stadiums to watch sports. Imagine this. You can see the full audience seats, and you seem to hear a loud shout.
However, even if you look at famous stadiums such as Gocheok Sky Dome and Jamsil Baseball Stadium, the number of people who can accommodate it is less than 30,000. 35,000 is that much. What if so many people are lining up to buy one car? There may be reasons for its popularity, but it is obvious that there will be a number of problems with demand that exceeds supply. In that sense, today’s AutoPost takes a step further into the story of the Ioniq 5’s most advanced pre-contracts and the resulting problems.
Written Editor Jeong Ji-hyun
The power of the ionic 5
Exceeding domestic sales targets
According to the industry, Ioniq 5, which started pre-contracting from February 25, recorded 31,000 pre-contracts until March 1st. And around March 5, a week after the pre-contract began, it achieved 35,000 units.
This is a figure that far exceeded the domestic sales target of 26,500 units this year. Even the IONIQ 5 recorded 23,760 units on the first day of the pre-contract alone, and achieved this year’s target in two days. The sales volume proved its popularity.
A record-breaking record
Hyundai Motor Company Ioniq 5
Ionic 5 also broke the record on the first day of pre-contracting for all finished car models released by Hyundai Motor Group. Previously, among Hyundai models, the Grandeur partially modified model released in 2019 had the highest sales record with 17,294 units.
Among the Hyundai Motor Group, Kia’s fourth-generation Carnival, launched in 2020, was the largest with 23,006 units. As a result, consumers are surprised to see the achievements befitting their aspirations to open the era of electric vehicles. In fact, there were not a few netizens admiring, “I didn’t know it was this much, but it was amazing.” So, why could Ioniq 5 be so loved?
Original design and
The indoor space was effective.
Ioniq 5, the first to apply E-GMP, an exclusive platform for electric vehicles of Hyundai Motors, showed original designs such as parametric pixels and clamshell hoods that were not seen in previous models. A wider interior space is secured with a wheelbase that is longer than the Palisade, and the living space with enhanced convenience, such as a flat floor and a console that moves freely back and forth, is also noticeable.
It is highly likely that the creation of an indoor space where they want to stay in this way caught the attention of consumers. In fact, Ioniq 5 unveiled’Concept Kevin’ before launch, showing that the interior space of the car can be decorated like a moving house.
The world’s first applied technology
If you receive a subsidy, the cost-effectiveness is good.
Although it was hit by consumers with a shorter driving distance than expected, technologies such as the world’s first 400V/800V multi-fast charging system and the V2L function that can supply general power to the outside of the vehicle would have been enough to attract consumers’ attention .
If you receive a subsidy here, you can purchase basic trim at a price in the upper half of 30 million won. For this reason, the Ioniq 5 is also evaluated as an electric car with good cost performance. However, there are rumors that this subsidy may not be available, and consumers are showing anxiety. In addition, it is said that the number of pre-contracts increased day by day and other concerns also increased. What is it?
Subsidies exhaustion problem
Can I really avoid it?
There are 70,000 vehicles that the government and local governments have decided to subsidize this year. However, in terms of numbers, there is a high possibility that the subsidy will be exhausted early as Ioniq 5 has already occupied half only through pre-contracts. Therefore, it is not difficult to find articles in the club cafe where you are worried that you will not be able to receive subsidies for electric vehicles in the future.
In the same case last year, most of the subsidies for electric vehicles of major local governments such as Seoul, Busan, and Sejong were exhausted by the end of September. In addition, since a large number of electric vehicle models such as Mercedes-Benz EQA and Kia CV are expected to be released this year, subsidies are expected to be exhausted at a faster rate than last year. In this situation, can Ioniq 5 avoid the problem of running out of subsidies?
Worry about waiting period
“Aren’t you getting it next year?”
The waiting period is also one of the concerns of consumers. This is a problem that naturally occurs when demand exceeds supply, and it is a problem that has already been found in many models. Palisade, for example, is so popular that it still has a waiting period even after years of launch.
In addition, in the case of the Ioniq 5, there is a situation that there is a situation that there will be a disruption in mass production due to the difficulty of agreeing on the number of people in the production line. In fact, according to Hyundai Motor Company, negotiations for bare hours at Ulsan Plant 1, which produce Ionic 5, have not yet been concluded. Hence, Hyundai Motor Company has stated that it will do its best to deliver vehicles in a timely manner, saying, “It is in the middle of the last minute adjustments related to man-hours”.
Infrastructure related issues
It’s an urgent homework
There is another problem. It’s an infrastructure-related problem. This will be the biggest obstacle as EVs grow exponentially. The government is in a position to continue to increase the supply of chargers, but it is difficult to keep up with the increased demand for electric vehicles. In addition, the installation subsidies paid by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy have been reduced by 1 million won each from a maximum of 3.5 million won in 2020 to 2.5 million won in 2021.
Although the number and infrastructure of electric vehicle charging needs to be expanded right now, the government focused on the mandatory installation rate per parking lot and reduced the amount of installation subsidies. In addition, the ratio and support for fast chargers compared to slow and slow chargers are also very lacking. As of the end of 2020, the domestic rapid charger supply is 9,800 units, which is less than half of the slow and low-speed chargers estimated at about 50,000 units. Unlike fast chargers that can be charged in about 30 minutes, slow chargers take an average of 4 to 5 hours, so there will be complaints from busy modern people.
Then, what were the opinions of netizens toward Ionic 5? Of course, there were also consumers who expressed their expectations for the Ioniq 5, which opens up a new era, saying, “Now, the era of electric vehicles has really arrived.” However, as many problems were raised, many consumers expressed their worries.
Some expressed anxiety about safety and infrastructure, saying, “Infrastructure and safety are still premature,” and “Are you living with a place to recharge?” Also, “You may not be able to receive subsidies… He also expressed dissatisfaction with the subsidy and waiting period, saying, “I would have wished the starting price was lower” and “I will receive delivery next year”. It was Auto Post Issue Plus.
[email protected]