Hyundai Motor Company’s next-generation electric car’Ioniq 5’is continuing the sales boom. The number of pre-contracts alone exceeded 40,000, and sales performance was close to the number of registered electric vehicles in Korea (46,769 units) last year. Ionic first exhibited at Hyundai Motor Company’s Wonhyoro office building in Yongsan, Seoul on the 17th 5. News1
There is growing concern that the eco-friendly car industry, such as pure electric vehicles and hydrogen electric vehicles, has been blocked by vested interests in the era of internal combustion engines and is unable to increase competitiveness. This is due to the opposition from labor unions, sales organizations, and existing businesses, which are the vested interests in each field such as production, sales, operation, and charging.
According to the industry on the 21st, sales of eco-friendly cars such as electric and hydrogen cars are causing a blast this year. Hyundai Motor Company’s electric vehicle Ioniq 5 has more than 40,000 pre-contracts. It greatly exceeds the overall sales target of this year (26,500 units).
The hydrogen car Nexo continues to be sold out nationwide. Each local government’s application for subsidies for the 2021 Nexo is about to close as soon as it starts. Ulsan (198 units supported), Gyeonggi Hwaseong (160 units), Gangwon Wonju (90 units), Sejong (55 units), Chungbuk Cheongju (50 units), Chungnam Asan (30 units), Jeonnam Suncheon (10 units), etc. As soon as the application of Nexo subsidies started in, the number of applications exceeded the number of applications.
As the eco-friendly car market grows, conflicts are forming everywhere. Until recently, the labor and management of Hyundai Motor Company had a conflict over the scale of the Ionic 5 production manpower. Unions once stopped production lines. It was against the reduction of manpower due to mass production of electric vehicles. Existing sales organizations are strongly opposing the move to diversify sales channels such as online. The existing gasoline industry’s resistance to expanding eco-friendly vehicle charging stations is strong.
Labor union “Stop selling electric vehicles online… LPG charging industry “No hydrogen charging stations”
Hyundai Motor Company Ioniq 5 mass production agreement… A month later due to union rebellion
On the 5th, at the Ulsan plant of Hyundai Motors, the labor and management faced an immediate situation over whether to put the production line of the next-generation electric vehicle Ioniq 5 test car into place. The labor union stopped the line when the management put a test car in a situation where there was no agreement between labor and management on the amount of manpower (man hour) to be used for the IONIQ 5 mass production line.
Electric vehicles have 30% fewer parts than internal combustion locomotives. As such, there is room for reducing production manpower. However, the union started a competency event before mass production, saying that if the manpower decreases, the labor intensity will increase.
As the era of eco-friendly vehicles, such as hydrogen electric vehicles and electric vehicles, continues to be sold out, the era of internal combustion locomotives is also increasing. This is because of the concern that if you stay still, you may lose the’rice bowl’. However, experts point out that refusing to change can be pushed out of the fierce global competition for future cars.
Trade union rebellion from electric vehicle production
Electric vehicles are facing backlash from unions that have vested interests from the stage of production. After an overnight meeting, Hyundai Motor Company’s labor and management came up with a bare-hour agreement on the Ioniq 5 in the early morning of the 10th, but it was about a month later than expected. This is because the union strongly opposed the reduction of manpower. The union also set up a production line for the Ionic 5 test car at the end of January.
Although the labor-management friction over the mass production of Ionic 5 has ended, there are concerns that similar conflicts will recur. “The Kia EV6 and Genesis JW (project name), which will be released this year, are also likely to cause friction between labor and management regarding the manpower to be put into the production line,” said Pilsoo Kim, a professor at Daelim University.
Hyundai Motor plans to change line 2 of Ulsan Plant 1, which produces Ioniq 5, to a line exclusively for electric vehicles, introduce smart factory technology, and accumulate big data related to productivity and defect rates. However, the union, which feared that the difference in capabilities of individual production workers would be revealed by the introduction of smart factory technology, was rejected and collapsed.
I can’t even dream of selling electric cars online
Even in the sales stage, electric vehicles are receiving resistance from the sales vested interests. When Kia tried to introduce online reservations ahead of the release of EV6 in July, the sales staff began to protest. On the 17th, the Kia union demanded withdrawal, saying, “Online reservations will expand to online sales, causing serious employment insecurity for sales workers.”
In the same vein, after Homeplus announced its plan to sell Renault Samsung Motors’ electric car’Joe’ at a mart store on the 1st, Renault Samsung Motors salespersons rebelled. If the sales channel is widened, the work of existing salespeople will be reduced.
However, imported car makers are already selling vehicles online. Tesla sold 100% of its cars online only, and achieved more than 10,000 cars last year in Korea. It was ranked first in the electric vehicle category. Mercedes-Benz and BMW are also planning to increase their online sales in Korea. An industry insider pointed out, “In the mid- to long-term, online channel reinforcement is an irreversible trend.”
Vested interests against even electric trucks
The vested interests also’tackle’ in the electric vehicle operation sector. On the 19th of last month, the National Assembly’s National Land Transportation Committee passed an amendment to the Freight Vehicle Transportation Business Act, which does not grant a new license for the transportation business even for electric trucks. The current freight vehicle law prohibits new licenses for all freight vehicles to prevent oversupply of commercial freight vehicles. However, for electric trucks of 1.5 tons or less, an exceptional permit has been granted since November 2018.
Members of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pushed for the amendment, arguing that the increase in electric freight vehicles could threaten the livelihood of small transporters. However, the industry pointed out that the lawmakers’ deception is due to the’votes’ of existing companies with vested interests. The lawmakers put up a small freight forwarder, but after that, there is a KCTU cargo solidarity with 400,000 subscribers.
The same goes for charging stations. There is no hydrogen car in Jeju Island. Because there is no hydrogen charging station. Although there are technical problems, the backlash from the local LPG vehicle charging industry, which is concerned that the establishment of a hydrogen charging station will lead to a decrease in sales, also affected. An industry official said, “In order for the eco-friendly car market to mature, each field must overcome the opposition and resistance of the existing industry,” and said, “If we develop conflict without finding a solution for win-win growth, it will adversely affect the competitiveness of the future car industry.”
Reporter Il-gyu Kim/Byeong-wook Do [email protected]