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Hyundai Motor Company from South Korea is entering Japan’s careful electric vehicle (EV) market. They’re doing this by launching the Hyundai Inster, a small electric car that costs about 2.85 million yen ($18,000). The goal here is to change the situation currently facing major Japanese car companies, including Toyota and Honda, who usually hold to making petrol and hybrid vehicles.
Japan’s Hesitant EV Adoption
In 2023, electric cars only made up 1% of the new cars bought in Japan, even though they make a lot of spectacular car technology. That’s significantly less than the worldwide average, which is 14%. Why are people in Japan not very interested in electric cars? There aren’t enough places to charge them, hybrids are essentially what they prefer, and electric cars can be pricier.
Hyundai’s Strategic Entry
Hyundai is lowering the price of the Inster to make it easier for people in Japan to get into electric cars. They have set the price lower than BYD’s Dolphin, which costs 3.63 million yen, to stand out as the cheaper option among small electric vehicles. The Inster first appeared in South Korea as the Casper Electric before making its way to Europe last year.
People in Japan can expect to get it starting in May 2025. By doing this, Hyundai wants to get the interest of Japanese consumers thinking about electric vehicles.
Market Challenges and Opportunities
In Japan, small cars that aren’t extremely powerful, called Kei cars, are of significant consequence. Last year wasn’t too good for Nissan’s Sakura; it only managed to sell just under 23,000, almost a 40% drop from its sales in 2023. But now, things have turned around, and it is actually doing quite well with a price tag of 2.60 million yen.
This just shows how hard it is for electric vehicles (EVs) to stop Japanese people from enjoying them.
Hyundai didn’t sell a lot of cars in Japan in 2024—just 607—which is significantly less compared to BYD’s 2,223 cars. We don’t know how many Tesla sold, because they didn’t tell us their sales numbers. Toshiyuki Shimegi, the important leader at Hyundai Mobility Japan, said that they really need to improve how they use the inter if they want people to notice their brand more and sell an entire group more cars, having the sincere intention to sell ten times as many in the next five years.
Historical Context and Future Prospects
Hyundai decided to make a comeback to Japan’s car scene in 2022, concentrating only on electric and fuel cell cars. This was after they had difficulties in 2009 because not many people were buying their cars. They noticed the world is very interested in earth-friendly vehicles, so that is what they are taking to Japan now.
Hyundai wants to make electric cars unfathomably wanted by everyone, so they’re selling a cheap, straightforward electric car in Japan to get everyone to agree. If their new Inster car becomes popular, it might push a lot of people and even other car companies there to consider going for electric cars. This move could really change how cars are sold in Japan, all thanks to Hyundai having the sincere intention to change the trade.
Finally, Hyundai is starting to sell the Inster in Japan for $18,000, which is a major move since people there usually do not buy many electric cars. They are tackling key issues like the price and how useful these cars are. This might seriously change the car scene in Japan and what cars people want to buy in the future.
