Hyundai tops in EV sales in Indonesia last month

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. had the highest electric vehicle sales in Indonesia last month, an Indonesian automotive industry association said Sunday.

Hyundai sold 196 EVs -- 195 units of the IONIQ 5 and one unit of the IONIQ Electric -- in the Southeast Asian market in May, according to the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (GAIKINDO).

Hyundai accounted for 98 percent of the entire 200 units of EVs sold in Indonesia last month, it said.

In the January-May period, Hyundai's EV sales reached 333 units, or 92 percent of overall sales of 363 EVs there, the association said.

Other EV models sold in Indonesia include Nissan Motor Corp.'s Leaf, Lexus' UX300e and Toyota Motor Corp.'s C+pod.

When combustion engine vehicle sales are combined, total vehicle sales in Indonesia reached 396,153 units in the first five months. Japanese carmakers claimed a share of 93 percent of the overall sales figure.

In 2022, Hyundai aims to increase its market share in the Indonesian automobile market from a share of 0.3 percent last year. It, however, didn't provide a targeted market share.

In the five-month period, Hyundai's share jumped to 2.4 percent helped by the localized Creta SUV and EV models.

Hyundai invested $1.55 billion to build a 150,000-unit-a-year plant in Indonesia, and began to produce the Creta SUV in January and the pure electric IONIQ 5 in March.

To boost local sales, Hyundai plans to launch the Stargazer multipurpose vehicle in Indonesia during the third quarter. (Yonhap)