South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. is expected to halt operations of a line at its Ulsan factory, where the electric flagship model Ioniq 5 is produced.

This marks the third suspension of the line this year, citing sluggish EV sales.

According to multiple industry sources on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor has sent an official letter to the labor union’s Plant 1 division, requesting cooperation for a temporary shutdown of Line 12 at the Ulsan Plant.

According to the letter, Hyundai Motor plans to stop production of that line from May 27 to 30.

Line 12 is responsible for producing the Ioniq 5 and Kona Electric.

“This temporary shutdown requires labor-management negotiations,” said a company official.

The union began discussions on the matter on Tuesday.

“Since early May, there has been a continued shortage of production volume, and the global EV market remains sluggish,” said Cha Jeong-hwan, head of Plant 1. “The company has implemented promotions such as discounts of up to 6 million won on the Ioniq 5 to stimulate domestic demand and reduce customer burden but we have been unable to secure additional volume.”

The line has already been operating under a partial shutdown system, leaving some of the conveyor belt idle.

This will be the third temporary halt of the line this year.

The first shutdown took place from February 24 to 28. At the time, Hyundai Motor noted that “due to the slow EV demand that began last year, production and sales of the Ioniq 5 have declined.”

The second suspension occurred from April 24 to 30, with the company citing “volatility in EV demand across Europe, Canada, and the U.S. due to tariffs and trade policy shifts under the Trump administration.”

The pause in May comes amid declining global sales of the Ioniq 5.

According to industry data, the Ioniq 5 recorded 9,611 global wholesale sales in April, down 18 percent from the same period last year.

Its domestic sales in the first quarter reached 2,585 units, up from 2,065 units the previous year but it is still below the 3,688 units sold in the first quarter of 2023.

The increase was largely attributed to earlier disbursement of EV subsidies this year.

Some experts suggest that the shift of production from domestic factories to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia in the United States may also be a factor.

The plant, which began full-scale operations at the end of 2024, produced 11,033 units of the Ioniq 5 in the first quarter alone, surpassing U.S. sales figures.

Its operating rate has already reached 57 percent.

Despite global EV headwinds, Ioniq 5 sales in the U.S. are growing.

According to market tracker Cox Automotive Inc., the model sold 8,611 units in the U.S. in the first quarter, up 26.2 percent from the same period a year ago.

Overall EV sales in the U.S. also increased by 11.4 percent during the same period, reaching about 290,000 units.

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