Hyundai Motor [005380:KS] has released a new platform for electric vehicle (EV) charging service to strengthen its presence in the South Korean EV market, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily on April 4. The platform, called E-pit, updates services for both Hyundai’s EV customers and those of its affiliate Kia [000270:KS] at EV charging stations. In the future, Hyundai plans to expand its charging point network in South Korea by allowing other EV charging service providers to use the E-pit charging system as well.

The E-pit charging system from Hyundai is equipped with high-efficiency charging technology. It takes only 18 minutes to charge an electric automobile equipped with an 800-volt system from 10% to 80% capacity. According to the Korea Economic Daily, the company plans to compete with the US electric automaker Tesla [TSLA:US] through the expansion of its charging infrastructure. From January to June 2021, South Korea imported a total of 14,295 EVs, up 64.7% YoY, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. Of the quantity imported, Tesla accounted for 11,629 units in the first half of the year, or 81.4% of all imported EV sales, an increase of 64.3% YoY. However, in its first six months on the market, Hyundai’s first all-electric car, the IONIQ 5, has sold more automobiles than Tesla in South Korea. From April to October 2021, Hyundai sold 19,250 units of IONIQ 5 in the country whereas Tesla sold 16,291 Model Y and Model 3 in the same period.

Sources:

https://www.kedglobal.com/electric-vehicles/newsView/ked202204110022

https://auto.ifeng.com/c/8Ew514t1jIz

https://www.yazhouribao.com/view/20210712074535912

https://www.sohu.com/a/499346312_151376

http://www.workercn.cn/34072/202109/07/210907084616703.shtml

https://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com.cn/news/202103/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%BD%E8%BD%A6%E9%9B%86%E5%9B%A2%E6%8E%A8%E5%87%BA%E8%B6%85%E9%AB%98%E9%80%9F%E5%85%85%E7%94%B5%E5%93%81%E7%89%8C-e-pit-%E5%8A%A0%E9%80%9F%E6%8B%93%E5%B1%95%E5%85%85%E7%94%B5%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C/