The IONIQ 5 electric car, presented at the end of February, became the firstborn of the new Hyundai E-GMP platform, the company received 23 orders in the first day of sales alone, with a production program of 760 planned for the first year. Trade unions can now be the main obstacle to increasing production of this electric vehicle.

Image source: Business Korea

Business Korea notes that associations of workers in the Korean auto industry have long expressed concern about the future of workforces in the light of the transition to the production of electric vehicles. The latter require 30-50% less number of components and assemblies; assembling electric vehicles takes less time than cars with internal combustion engines. The need for workers on the assembly line is also decreasing, which is why unions are expressing concern about the future of the labor market. Workers are demanding job guarantees from Hyundai as they move to electric vehicles.

Limiting the supply of traction batteries can also be a problem. According to Korean media reports, Hyundai receives batteries from overseas, so even if unions agree to increase the production program of electric vehicles, they may run into a shortage of traction batteries. The head of Tesla, Elon Musk, also noted more than once that the main limiting factor in the growth of production of electric vehicles is the shortage of batteries. The company is actively developing its own production, but at the same time it does not refuse from external purchases. Tesla’s entry-level electric vehicle models are shifting to smaller-capacity LFP batteries to fill demand.