Hyundai has been in the pursuit of bringing formidable EV vehicles globally. As per recent events covered by Reuters Hyundai has launched its new compact EV cars in Japan, in a pursuit to penetrate in to a market that until now has been dominated by local giants. Hyundai plans to combat the offerings of local manufacturers who are offering Petrol and Hybrid vehicle technology at affordable prices.
To gain a formidable position in the Japanese Market, Hyundai recently launched a new Hyundai Inster. Similar approach has been tried by Tesla in Japan before as well. The main aim of all manufacturers who want to penetrate the Japan EV space has been that they want to establish themselves as formidable EV players when the market is witnessing a slow take up of EV’s. So that when the market heats up users and consumers can easily choose the brands that have gained a positive image for themselves.
Hyundai would be selling the Inster for only $18,000 entry model price tag which would be the lowest for a compact electric car in Japan. The Inster recently made its debut in Europe last year as well as South Korea where the vehicle is known as Casper. The car would be delivered to Japanese customers starting May.
Japan has a very special car taxing policy where special cars under the Kei class are limited in power and have a limited overall wheelbase for a lower tax class. The Competitor to Hyundai Inster the Nissan Sakura is as of now sold at 2.60 million Yen and its one of the most popular EV in the country.
But even so the manufacturer was only able to sell fewer than 23,000 units last year, down nearly 40 % from 2023. Japan has a formidable lack of EV popularity that EV manufacturer seek to take advantage of. Once EV’s becomes the popular choice among users they would have a established line up of vehicles for buyers.
As of yet sales numbers showcase a very gloomy image with the last year sales of Hyundai standing at a low 607 vehicles only in Japan. Competitors such as BYD sold only 2,223 vehicles. Hyundai has had a gloomy past with Japan, with the manufacturer exiting the market after 2009 low sales. They had re- entered the market in 2022 with only electric and fuel cell vehicles.
Could Inster Be the Next Possible EV launch in India
As of yet Hyundai has not confirmed which model they would launch in India. The Exter which is the ICE cousin of the Inster has been selling well. As per the official statements by officials in Hyundai the Launch of Hyundai Creta Electric would be followed by tow more launches of indigenous cars. These could possibly be ICE variants converted into EV’s to save up on production costs.
Hyundai Inster Specs
Hyundai Inster is equipped with a 42 KWH battery as standard, beyond that you can also opt for a long range battery pack which is the 49 KWH battery pack. The car is powered by a 71.1 KW motor in the base variant and a 84.5 kW Electric motor in the long range car. Both versions offer 147 Nm of torque.
