Hyundai Motor gears up for expansion into Japan 12 years after exit Global shift to EVs prompts Korean auto giant to consider reentry into Japanese market
Translated by Ryu Ho-joung 공개 2021-12-01 08:12:28
이 기사는 2021년 12월 01일 08:10 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
Hyundai Motor is gearing up for expansion into Japan, a dozen years after its exit from the market dominated by domestic players in 2009, as the South Korean automobile giant seeks to capitalize on a global shift to electric vehicles.Hyundai Motor is weighing when to enter the Japanese auto market, with this potentially happening as soon as next year, according to industry sources. President and chief executive Chang Jae-hoon told Japanese media in early November that the automaker is in the final stages of reviewing its plan to enter the Japanese market, describing the country as “an advanced market and the world’s strictest market”.
The South Korean auto giant’s first venture into the world’s third largest economy in the 2000s failed to lure Japanese customers who are very loyal to domestic car brands. Hyundai Motor entered the market in 2000 as a late mover and started selling its vehicles there in January of the following year through its subsidiary Hyundai Motor Japan Co Ltd.
Hyundai Motor’s auto sales in Japan continued to increase from 1,113 units in 2001 to 2,524 in 2004, with the cumulative sales exceeding 10,000 units in 2005. Despite that, its share remained below 1% among imported car brands – not even in the whole auto market – in Japan. Its car sales slumped to 1,000 in 2008, leading to the company’s decision to exit the country in 2009.
Japan is one of the most difficult markets for foreign automakers to penetrate. Toyota rules the market with a roughly 30% share, with other domestic automakers such as Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi together accounting for more than 60%. In contrast, imported car brands hold a combined market share of only 7-8% in Japan, a figure that little changed compared with the 2000s.
Hyundai Motor has two wholly owned subsidiaries in Japan, Hyundai Motor Japan and Hyundai Motor Japan R&D Center Inc. They have continued to monitor the Japanese market even after the company’s exit from the country.
Above all, the global transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric cars has affected Hyundai Motor’s decision to enter the Japanese market again, sources said. The Japanese government earlier this year announced a plan to completely phase out gasoline-powered vehicles in the country by 2035, raising its net zero ambition in line with global trends.
Global automakers including Hyundai Motor have been ramping up investments in electric vehicles in the past years, with Hyundai Motor’s new eco-friendly models – such as pure electric vehicle Ioniq 5 and hydrogen fuel vehicle Nexo – are attracting strong interest from buyers.
Electric car sales in Japan were 14,604 units last year, lower than the levels in China, Europe and the US, according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, suggesting a large potential to grow in the coming years.
“We are reviewing our plan to enter the Japanese market in the long term considering trends of the global auto industry,” said an official at Hyundai Motor, adding that details have not finalized yet. (Reporting by Su-jin Yoo)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- 우리금융 "롯데손보 M&A, 과도한 가격 부담 안한다"
- 신한캐피탈, 지속성장 포트폴리오 리밸런싱 체계 강화
- 하나금융, ELS 악재에도 실적 선방…확고한 수익 기반
- 하나금융, 자본비율 하락에도 주주환원 강화 의지
- 국민연금, '역대 최대 1.5조' 출자사업 닻 올렸다
- [도전 직면한 하이브 멀티레이블]하이브, 강한 자율성 보장 '양날의 검' 됐나
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]꺾여버린 기세에…포스코홀딩스, '자사주 소각' 카드 재소환
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]LG엔솔 예견된 실적·주가 하락, 비용 절감 '집중'
- [퍼포먼스&스톡]포스코인터, 컨센서스 웃돌았지만 주가는 '주춤'
- 신한금융, ‘리딩금융’ 재탈환에 주주환원 강화 자신감