SINGAPORE – After a delay partly owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, South Korean vehicle manufacturer Hyundai Motor’s assembly plant in Singapore will start rolling out the electric Ioniq 5 in the first half of this year.
To mark the occasion, the company will hold a charity auction for the number plates of its first 100 cars assembled in Singapore. These cars will bear special number plates with the “EVS” prefix, which stands for EV made in Singapore. It hopes to raise $400,000 for charity.
The Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Jurong, the site of Singapore’s first vehicle assembly plant in more than 40 years, is expected to be completed in April, said Mr Andy Kang, Hyundai Motor’s head of sales innovation group. It was originally slated to be completed last November.
Mr Kang told The Straits Times on Wednesday that the plant will initially import the car’s fully painted body shell from its newly opened factory in Indonesia, with all other parts shipped in from South Korea.
He added that Hyundai is looking to source parts from Singapore automotive component makers once its production volume ramps up. The plant is slated to produce up to 30,000 vehicles a year by 2025. Besides the Ioniq 5, the newly unveiled Ioniq 6 and new Kona Electric will be assembled in the Jurong facility too.
When in full swing, the highly automated assembly will be manned by no more than 30 people.
Apart from a “Made in Singapore” sticker on the door frames, the Singapore-assembled Ioniq 5 is identical to its crossovers made in South Korea and Indonesia.
Besides the special number plates, the first 100 units will also have a Merlion sticker on the boot lid and embossed front headrests reading “First 100”.
Hyundai will hold the charity auction between Jan 12 and 16 to raise funds for the President’s Challenge. Bids start from $1,000, with minimum increments of $100. The numbers are from EVS 1L to EVS 100J. Bidding is done at https://str.sg/wFNx.
