Hyundai just made its 100 millionth vehicle, marking a significant milestone. The accomplishment took just 57 years, much quicker than Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, and GM. With long-range, fast-charging EVs rolling out, like the new IONIQ 5, Hyundai is laying the groundwork for a global sales run.
Since 1967, Hyundai Motor has been trailblazing its own path in the auto industry. After launching Korea’s first passenger car, the Pony, in 1967, Hyundai continued its innovation streak, with new releases like the Sonata, Excel, and Elantra rolling out in the 1980s and early 90s.
In 1991, Hyundai developed its first EV prototype, the Sonata (Y2) EV. The prototype planted the seeds for Hyundai’s dedicated IONIQ brand of electric vehicles, which was born in 2020.
After launching its first vehicle under the new brand in 2021, the IONIQ 5, Hyundai’s midsize electric SUV, has continued to climb the global sales charts. Hyundai followed it up with the IONIQ 6 “electrified streamliner,” which hit the market in 2022.
Hyundai’s dedicated EVs helped it cross a major milestone, as its 100 millionth car, an IONIQ 5, rolled off the production line on September 30, 2024.
Hyundai IONIQ 5 N rolls off the production line, topping the 100 million vehicle milestone (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai hits 100M vehicle milestone in the new EV era
It took 57 years, which may seem like a long time, but Hyundai hit the threshold much quicker than other global auto leaders.
According to industry sources (via The Korea Herald), it took Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors, and Ford nearly 100 years to reach the same milestone.
Hyundai IONIQ 5 (left) and IONIQ 6 (right) at Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai held a ceremony at its Ulsan Plant, the foundation of its success, saying it is a “central hub for electrification” with a dedicated EV facility on-site.
“This auspicious occasion is just the first step toward the future era of electrification that Hyundai Motor will lead,” Hyundai Motor’s head of domestic productions said at the event. Hyundai stressed the achievement follows its continuous growth with advanced EVs (including Kia and Genesis models) based on its E-GMP platform.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 (Source: Hyundai)
Hyundai continues expanding its global footprint. Last year, it opened a new robot-run smart facility in Singapore, introducing new technology to help it cut costs and accelerate production times.
Hyundai’s new 2025 IONIQ 5 Limited with a Tesla NACS port (Source: Hyundai)
The first vehicle to roll off assembly is the updated 2025 IONIQ 5, which features more range and a Tesla NACS port. Later this year, Hyundai will also introduce its first three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9.
Hyundai IONIQ 9 (SEVEN) electric SUV concept (Source: Hyundai)
In Korea, Europe, and other global markets, Hyundai’s low-cost Casper Electric (Inster EV overseas) is rolling out.
Hyundai Casper Electric (Source: Hyundai)
With a starting price tag under $27,500 (25,000 euros), Hyundai’s small electric SUV will be one of the most affordable electric cars on the market as the Korean automaker looks to carry its momentum into the EV era.
Electrek’s Take
With some of the most efficient, affordable electric vehicles on the market, Hyundai is already climbing the global sales charts.
In the second quarter, Hyundai Motor (including Kia and Genesis) surpassed Ford and GM to become America’s second-best-selling EV brand behind Tesla. The Korean automaker just had its best-ever total and retail US sales month in August, with nearly 80,000 vehicles sold.
With US production kicking off and new models arriving, Hyundai is laying the foundation to continue gaining market share. In other global markets, Hyundai is also targeting popular segments with unique electric cars.
To secure a leadership role, Hyundai is heavily investing in batteries and other EV tech to cut costs and improve efficiency. For example, just last week, Hyundai and Kia launched a new LFP battery project to power future lower-priced EVs.
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U.S. President Donald Trump walks as workers react at U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.
Leah Millis | Reuters
U.S. Steel shares jumped on Monday after President Donald Trump approved its controversial merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
U.S. Steel shares were last up about 5% in premarket trading.
Trump issued an executive order on Friday that allowed U.S. Steel and Nippon to finalize their merger so long as they signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government. The companies said they signed the agreement with the government, completing the final hurdle for the deal.
U.S. Steel said the national security agreement includes a golden share for the U.S .government, without specifying what powers the government would wield with its share. Trump said on Thursday that the golden share gives the U.S. president “total control.”
Typically, golden shares allow the holder veto power over important decisions the company makes. Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC in May that the golden share will give the U.S. government control of several board seats and ensure production levels aren’t cut.
Trump has avoided calling the transaction a merger, describing the deal instead as a “partnership.” U.S. Steel confirmed in a regulatory filing Monday that the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel North America.
“All regulatory approvals required for the completion of the Transaction have been received,” U.S. Steel said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. “The Transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed promptly.”
Trails of Iranian ballistic missiles light up the night sky as seen from Gaza City during renewed missile strikes launched by Iran in retaliation against Israel on June 15, 2025.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Tehran will “pay the price” for its fresh missile onslaught against Israel, the Jewish state’s defense minister warned Monday, as markets braced for a fourth day of ramped-up conflict between the regional powers.
Fire exchanges have continued since Israel’s Friday attack against Iran, with Iranian media reporting Tehran’s latest strikes hit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, home to a major refinery. CNBC has reached out to operator Bazan for comment on the state of operations at the Haifa plant, amid reports of damage to Israel’s energy infrastructure.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said overnight it deployed “innovative methods” that “disrupted the enemy’s multi-layered defense systems, to the point that the Zionist air defense systems engaged in targeting each other,” according to a statement obtained by NBC News.
Israel has widely depended on its highly efficient Iron Dome missile defense system to fend off attacks throughout regional conflicts — but even it can be overwhelmed if a large number of projectiles are fired.
The fresh hostilities are front-of-mind for investors, who have been weighing the odds of further escalation in the conflict and spillover into the broader oil-rich Middle East, amid concerns over crude supplies and the key shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Oil prices retained the gains of recent days and at 09:19 a.m. London time, Ice Brent futures with August delivery were trading at $73.81 per barrel, down 0.57% from the previous trading session. The Nymex WTI contract with July expiry was at $72.7 per barrel, 0.38% lower.
Elsewhere, however, markets showed initial signs of shrugging off the latest hostilities early on Monday.
Spot prices for key safe-haven asset gold retreated early morning, down 0.42% to $3,417.83 per ounce after nearly notching a two-year-high earlier in the session, with U.S. gold futures also down 0.65% to $ 3,430.5
Tel Aviv share indices pointed higher, with the blue-chip TA-35 up 0.99% and the wider TA-125 up 1.33%.
Luis Costa, global head of EM sovereign credit at Citigroup Global Markets, signaled the muted reaction could be, in part, attributed to hopes of a brisk resolution to the conflict.
“So markets are obviously, you know, bearing in mind all potential scenarios. There are obviously potentially very bad scenarios in this story,” he told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Monday. “But there is still a way out in terms of, you know, a faster resolution and bringing Iran to the table, or a short continuation here, of a very surgical and intense strike by the Israeli army.”
U.S. response in focus
As of Monday morning, Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom reported four dead and 87 injured following rocket strikes at four sites in “central Israel,” reporting collapsed buildings, fire and people trapped under debris.
Accusing Tehran of targeting civilians in Israel to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from “continuing the attack that is collapsing its capabilities,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, a close longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a Google-translated social media update that “the residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.”
The IDF on Sunday said it had in turn “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on numerous weapon production sites belonging to the Quds Force, the IRGC and the Iranian military, in Tehran.”
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
The U.S.’ response is now in focus, given its close support and arms provision to Israel, the unexpected cancellation of Washington’s latest nuclear deal talks with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s historically hard-hitting stance against Tehran during his first term.
Trump, who has been pushing Iran for a deal over its nuclear program, has weighed in on the conflict, opposing an Israeli proposal to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to NBC News.
Discussions about the conflict are expected to take place during the ongoing meeting of the G7, encapsulating Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., along with the European Union.
— CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
A Tesla Model 3 got stuck on a train track and was hit, albeit slightly, by a train in Sinking Spring, PA. The driver claimed it was in “self-driving mode.”
According to the fire alerts in Berks County, a Tesla Model 3 drove around a train track barrier near South Hull Street and Columbia Avenue and got stuck in the tracks.
The driver was able to exit the vehicle, but a train hit the car, reportedly snapping off the side mirror.
The fire commissioner ordered to stop all train traffic as the emergency services worked to get the Model 3 off the tracks using a crane.
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Spitlers Garage & Towing, performed the recovery and shared a few pictures on Facebook:
The Tesla driver reportedly claimed that the vehicle was in “self-driving mode” leading up to getting stuck on the train tracks.
Tesla claims that all its vehicles built since 2016 will be capable of unsupervised self-driving with software updates; however, this has yet to occur.
Instead, Tesla has been selling a “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package for up to $15,000 that requires the driver to constantly supervise the vehicle, with the driver remaining responsible for the car at all times.
Electrek’s Take
There have been instances of Tesla drivers engaging in reckless behavior and then attributing it to the Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.
I’m not saying it’s the case here, but it’s a possibility.
On the other side, I’ve seen FSD try to navigate around construction barriers. It’s possible that it tried to do that in this case, here and then got caught on the tracks.
We would need more data.
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