There was a Ford factory in Singapore which operated up till 1980 and then ceased operations, ending all vehicle assembly in the country. But since May last year, vehicle assembly has resumed with Hyundai Motor making its IONIQ 5 there and this has now been joined by the IONIQ 6.
SKD assembly operation
The assembly at the factory in Jurong is not a full-scale manufacturing process and is more of a semi-knocked down (SKD) operation. The IONIQ 5 bodyshell comes in completed form from a factory in Indonesia and virtually all parts come from Korea or from suppliers in other countries.
For the IONIQ 6, the bodyshell comes from Korea. This is a sedan model but uses the same Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) as the IONIQ 5. The platform has been developed for fully electric models and is also used by other brands in the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG).
Singapore, like many other countries, is also pushing for a switch to EVs and with manufacturing processes for such vehicles using more advanced technologies, the government probably sees the technological resources in the country as being suited for such activities.
30,000 units a year by 2025
The highly automated facility with 179 robots is still in an early phase but annual output is expected to reach 30,000 units by 2025. Besides the IONIQ 6 and IONIQ 5, the KONA Electric will also be assembled there.
Using Hyundai’s on-demand technology, customers will be able to customize and purchase vehicles online. They can then watch their car being manufactured and when completed, it will be transferred to the 620-metre long Sky Track where the future owner can test drive the vehicle.
Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre
The assembly facility is part of HMG’s S$400 million (RM1.39 billion) Innovation Centre (HMGICS) in the Jurong Innovation District. The complex will also feature a landing port for Urban Air Mobility as well as solar panels providing the site with clean renewable energy.
The centre will gradually expand its use of renewable energy to eventually use fuel cells for power supply to minimize emissions from power generation.
Besides being Singapore’s first robotics smart factory for EVs, HMGICS is also where the Korean automaker will explore new business ideas, technologies and develop future mobility solutions.