Hyundai signs deal to provide Ioniq Hybrid taxis to Singapore

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Ioniq Hybrid vehicles will roam in Singapore. Hyundai Motor announced Thursday that it signed a deal in Seoul to provide up to 1,200 Ioniq Hybrid taxis to Singapore’s leading taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, by the first half of next year. On hand at the signing ceremony were Kim Hyung-jung, vice president of Hyundai Motor, and ComfortDelGro Chairman Lim Jit Poh.

Hyundai is a leading player in Singapore’s taxi market. It started to sell its Sonata NF sedans as taxis to the city state in 2007, before supplying newer versions of the Sonata and the i40 hatchbacks. Hyundai has a 55 percent share in Singapore’s taxi market. Of a total of 21,000 taxis in Singapore, 12,000 are Hyundai cars.

The Ioniq is Hyundai’s first environmentally friendly vehicle. In addition to the hybrid model, Hyundai also manufactures plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and purely electric cars. As the Singaporean government tightened emissions regulations on cars in January, Hyundai has seized the opportunity to sell its hybrid cars. “This will be an opportunity for Hyundai to promote its eco-friendly car technology to the world,” a Hyundai official said.


Eun-Taek Lee nabi@donga.com