Hyundai says it wont compete with cut-price Chinese electric cars

The former Number Three in the Australian automotive market – Hyundai – says it won’t be able to limbo to the low prices offered by Chinese electric cars.

Hyundai Australia has conceded it won’t be able to compete with cut-price Chinese electric cars when it rolls out more models in the next few years.

Chinese vehicles account for the five cheapest electric cars on sale in Australia – under a threshold of $50,000 – but South Korean automaker Hyundai has already waved a flag of surrender when it comes to limboing down to cheaper options.

The boss of Hyundai Australia, John Kett, told a media briefing last week the Hyundai Kona Electric “won’t be competing on price” against Chinese rivals such as the BYD Dolphin, BYD Atto 3 and upcoming MG4.

“We’ve got to find another solution for that. (The Hyundai Kona Electric) won’t be price-competitive to those models, and we have to go into the market knowing that. But what we do know there are other factors in our favour.”

The Hyundai Australia executive said the company is “a very strong government choice when it comes to fleet electric vehicles.”

“We’re still a brand of choice when it comes to (electric vehicles) for government purchases, which is going to be huge, and green corporates will follow suit – but they’ll also follow their purse a little bit more aggressively. So we’ve got a lot of work to do,” said Mr Kett.

The industry veteran said Hyundai did not want to scrap it out in the bargain basement end of the electric-car market because it dents profitability and limits financial sustainability.

“To think that Hyundai is doing nothing (in the affordable end of the electric-car segment) is not right,” said Mr Kett.

“But to think that we’ll have a car that will compete against the Chinese in terms of absolute price is not right, because we’ve been there before, we see what happens to us when we (discount heavily).”

The executive said Hyundai has a healthy respect for emerging car brands from China “but our brand premium … we think exists over some of those emerging competitors.”

“We feel good about where we’re heading,” said Mr Kett. “We just can’t share (the information).”

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