Due to Continued Shortage of Automotive Semiconductors

The IONIQ 5 from Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Co. has postponed the release of its latest electric vehicle model IONIQ 5 in the U.S. market to winter from the originally scheduled fall. This seems to be due to the continued shortage of automotive semiconductors.

Hyundai Motor's U.S. subsidiary (HMA) changed the IONIQ 5’s expected release time from fall to winter on its website, said Carbuzz, a U.S. automobile media outlet. Carbuzz suggested that the delay may have been prompted by a semiconductor shortage.

The delay is expected to disrupt Hyundai Motor’s plan to penetrate the electric vehicle market in the United States.

Motional, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor working on development of self-driving vehicles, is developing a robotaxi based on the IONIQ 5 to start commercial services in the United States in 2023. The robotaxi received worldwide spotlight when it was unveiled at the 2021 IAA Mobility held in Munich, Germany in August.

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Corp. plan to produce electric vehicles at their Alabama and Georgia plants, respectively, but gearing up the production will take more time than originally expected.

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