Hyundai to build Ioniq EV plant in Singapore

Following the launch of the EV-only Ioniq brand, we now have news on that Hyundai plans to build a plant dedicated to producing electric vehicles (EV) under the brand in Singapore. According to the Straits Times, Hyundai is expecting to start construction of the Ioniq plant in Singapore by October 2020.

Plans for the plant were initially set for May of this year, but construction of the 301,389 square-feet plant was delayed until October due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Hyundai targets to start producing electric vehicles (EV) by the second half of 2022. According to Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors executive chairman, Teo Hock Seng, the Singapore plant is expected to produce 30,000 EVs a year with as many as 6,000 sets to be sold in the country.

The first vehicle to be produced at the plant will likely be the Ioniq 5, a fully electric compact crossover, or in other words, an SUV. Ioniq intends to name their EVs numerically with even numbers used for sedans while odd numbers are reserved for SUVs.

Earlier this year, the company also announced that they will be setting up an innovation centre in Singapore to develop and test technology across the brand’s automotive supply chain and the manufacturing process for EVs.

Which means the plant will function as both a research and development centre as well as an EV production plant.

Located in the western part of the island, the plant will mark the return of car production to the island following the closure of the Ford Motor Co. factory 40 years ago.

The Singapore Ioniq plant is the second factory that Hyundai Motor is building in the ASEAN region. The company has already started construction of a Hyundai plant in Indonesia.

The Indonesian plant will focus on compact SUVs and compact MPVs like the Hyundai Creta and the upcoming Hyundai Custo compact MPV.