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Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) facility. (Photo: Hyundai Motor Group) |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Hyundai Motor Group’s exports of electric vehicles (EVs) to the United States fell by a staggering 88% year-on-year during the first five months of 2025, as the company faces growing challenges from sluggish local sales and the shift to U.S.-based production. With the Biden administration’s EV tax credit program set to expire this September, concerns are mounting over the future of Korea’s domestic EV production base.
According to the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association (KAMA) on July 22, Hyundai Motor and Kia exported only 7,156 EVs to the U.S. between January and May 2025—down from 59,705 units during the same period in 2024. Hyundai (including Genesis) shipped 3,906 units (-87.0% YoY), while Kia exported 3,250 units (-89.1%).
This marks the lowest five-month export volume since Hyundai began its electrification strategy in earnest in 2021.
Hyundai and Kia had steadily expanded their U.S.-bound EV exports over the past four years (January–May figures):
– 4,441 units in 2021
– 28,474 in 2022
– 46,542 in 2023
– 59,705 in 2024
Full-year exports were:
– 19,820 units in 2021
– 68,923 in 2022
– 121,876 in 2023
– 92,049 in 2024
Analysts now warn that Hyundai may struggle to surpass even 20,000 units in total EV exports to the U.S. this year.
The steep decline coincides with Hyundai’s launch of its dedicated U.S. production base. In the first half of 2025, the company opened its Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) in Georgia, where it produced 28,957 units of the compact SUV IONIQ 5 and 4,187 units of the larger IONIQ 9.
Kia, which began local EV production last year, produced and sold 7,441 units of the EV6 and 7,417 units of the EV9 in the U.S. market.
However, these efforts have not fully offset declining demand. According to Wards Intelligence, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 44,555 EVs in the U.S. during the first half of 2025—down 28.0% year-on-year. This comes despite a 5.2% increase in overall U.S. EV sales during the same period, marking Hyundai’s first EV sales contraction in the U.S. since 2021.
Industry observers expect the outlook to worsen in the second half of the year, with the anticipated expiration of the U.S. federal EV tax credit under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), introduced by President Donald Trump. The credit is scheduled to end in September.
A recent report by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) estimated that Hyundai Motor Group could lose up to 45,828 units in U.S. EV sales annually—representing a revenue hit of USD 1.95 billion (KRW 2.72 trillion).
Given that the U.S. accounted for 36% of Hyundai’s total global EV exports in 2024 (254,967 units), the potential loss poses significant risks for Korea’s domestic EV production base.
In a related development, Hyundai temporarily shut down production lines at its Ulsan Plant 1—responsible for the IONIQ 5 and Kona EV—from July 16 to 21, marking its fifth production halt this year.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
