Hyundai Motor declares it is fully prepared to take on Chinese automakers

Reports say Hyundai has signaled it is ready to compete head-on with Chinese automakers in Europe and will comply with EU emissions rules on its own, refusing to buy carbon credits from rivals.

Hyundai’s Europe chief Xavier Martinet said purchasing credits from Chinese or other EV competitors would mean “paying to strengthen your opponents,” and Hyundai won’t do it.

Under EU rules starting in 2025, automakers must cut average CO₂ emissions of new cars by 15% versus 2021, targeting 93.6 g/km for passenger cars, with penalties of €95 per excess gram. Some carmakers have formed pools or spent hundreds of millions of euros buying credits from Chinese brands such as BYD.

To defend its roughly 8% market share in the EU and UK (leading among non-European brands), Hyundai plans to launch five new EV and hybrid models within 18 months. It will introduce the all-electric Ioniq 3 hatchback in April 2026, positioned against the Volkswagen ID.3. Hyundai also acknowledged the EV transition is slower than expected, aiming to offer an electric or hybrid option across its lineup by 2027 rather than going fully EV-only.