Hyundai to manufacture EVs in Singapore. Will that help supply in Australia?

Hyundai appears to be on target to open its new Singapore manufacturing plant in the first half of 2023. The plant will manufacture Hyundai’s popular EVs such as  the Hyundai Ioniq 5 SUV, which sold out locally in under 15 minutes in the latest Australian offering this week.

The plant is part of the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Jurong which is a district in western Singapore. It’s also the first car assembly plant to be based in Singapore in more than 40 years.

With the construction completion date set in April, hundreds of Hyundai Ioniq 5 EVs will start rolling out before the middle of the year.

Hyundai also has plans to produce its upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 6 and the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric. It has a target of 30,000 vehicles at the plant by 2025.

The launch of production will include the first 100 vehicles to be part of a charity auction in effort to raise money for the “President’s Challenge”. 

According to Wikipedia, this challenge is an annual campaign supported by the kindness and generosity of people from all walks of life, regardless of culture, religion or family background, to help those less fortunate. 

Previously companies like Microsoft have been a big part of the fundraiser so it’s good to see Hyundai getting involved too.

The first 100 produced models will be AWD versions of the Ioniq 5 which have a driveaway price of $S147,800 in Singapore.

Hyundai will be offering a 10-year, 160,000 km warranty on the Ioniq 5’s battery pack. In comparison to Australia, it’s a longer coverage. The Ioniq 5 is currently covered with an eight-year, 160,000 km warranty.

The new plant is a good sign that Hyundai is looking at manufacturing facilities closer to Australia. Singapore is a right-hand drive market like ours and with it being an island nation, it has a car market of around 45,000 vehicles a year. 

This means that the new plant in Jurong with a production capacity of 30,000 vehicles will need to be geared to exporting some of the EVs it produces in the coming years. Some of these may even make it to Australia, ensuring we don’t sell out of EV batches in under 15 minutes.