Following Trend
Chung Jae-hoon, the president of Hyundai Motor Company, discussed the company’s plans concerning electric vehicle charging during the Goodwood Festival in West Sussex, England. Following the unveiling of the first high-performance electric vehicle, the Ioniq 5 N, under Hyundai's core electrification strategy N Brand, Chung was asked whether Hyundai would also adopt Tesla’s charging standards.
During an open Q&A session with management, he acknowledged Tesla’s chargers. Despite his previous vague responses regarding adopting Tesla’s charging standards, Chung said, “We must consider how helpful it would be to our customers if we used Tesla’s standards and verify whether the charging efficiency is effective.” He added, “Tesla also has a lot to help us with.”
His comments come as several global car companies are adopting the electric vehicle charging standards set by Tesla. When Tesla opened its supercharger network to other automakers in the United States, companies like General Motors (GM), Ford, Volvo, and others agreed to use these standards, forming what’s known as a “charging alliance.” According to foreign media, Volkswagen, a major automaker that uses the same port (CCS1) as the Hyundai Motor Group, is also considering adopting this approach.
Chung further noted, “We will decide soon on whether to join the charging alliance, taking into account the benefits to our customers, such as how to apply the charging fees discount that Tesla customers get if our customers go to Tesla for charging and it takes longer.”
Hyundai is contemplating joining the charging alliance for two reasons. Primarily, the voltage offered by Tesla's current charging system cannot satisfy the ultra-fast charging speed of Hyundai vehicles, which is the major reason. Last month, at the 2023 CEO Investor Day held at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, Chung said, “When a Hyundai vehicle is connected to a Tesla supercharger, it currently takes longer to charge,” adding that “customers need to accept this, or Tesla needs to improve the charging speed. We need to negotiate this part.”
Another reason is the widespread use of the CCS1 standard in domestic EV charging stations in Korea. If Hyundai were to adopt the Tesla method in the United States, it would have to stick with the existing CCS1 standard in Korea, and possibly use another standard in Europe, resulting in decreased efficiency in terms of vehicle production.