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Hyundai Motor revealed its plan to return to Japan after leaving the country 12 years ago. The South Korean automaker was forced to withdraw its business at that time due to low sales.
As per Reuters, Hyundai Motor made the decision to try again and re-enter in the Japanese auto market as the demand for electric vehicles is growing these days. The increasing demand is said to have opened a new opportunity for the company to start afresh in Japan.
It was reported that Hyundai will be selling its Nexo SUV model unit which is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle. In addition, it will also be marketing its Ioniq 5 crossover EV. The move to re-open its business in the country is part of the firm's attempt to snatch at least 10% of the total EV sales worldwide by the year 2025.
Hyundai Motor first entered Japan in 2001, but the outcome has been disappointing. The Korean carmaker decided to withdraw in the last quarter of 2009 after selling just 15,000 units of vehicles.
Now, as the demand for EVs is getting stronger every day, Hyundai thinks this is the right time to go back and secure its market share in the EV sector. Some of the leading electric vehicle makers are already operating in the region, such as Tesla, and others, including Hyundai, are ready to compete.
"We haven't yet set a target for sales, but we will try to provide more information once we begin taking orders online in May," Shigeaki Kato, Hyundai Mobility Japan's head, said during a press conference that was held on Tuesday, Feb. 8, in Tokyo.
With Hyundai's re-entry, Kato further said that this time around, they would be focusing more on online sales. They will also be teaming up with a car sharing service that is being run by DeNA, an online social gaming firm, and Sompo Holdings, an insurance company. The company allows private vehicle owners to rent out their cars.
Meanwhile, for its return to the Japanese market this year, The Korea Times quoted Hyundai Motor's chief executive officer, Jang Jae Joon, as saying via video interview. "Hyundai Motor has been contemplating re-entry in various forms for the past 12 years and now we have decided to go back to square one and service our Japanese customers."
