Hyundai unveiled its new Ioniq 6, a sedan that it says will ship vary on par with the Tesla Mannequin 3, issuing a direct problem to the best-selling battery-electric sedan available on the market.
The Ioniq 6 — the follow-up to Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 SUV and the second mannequin in its Ioniq EV sub-brand — will journey 610 kilometers (379 miles) on a totally charged battery, based mostly on the European WLTP check cycle. That exceeds the 602 kilometers beneath the WLTP check cycle for the Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary.
That’s a major accomplishment, provided that Tesla has long-served because the benchmark for EV vary.
“Whereas many competing EVs have been edging nearer to Tesla’s vary scores, comparatively few have matched or exceeded them,” stated Ed Kim, president and chief analyst for AutoPacific.
The Korean automaker, which has set an bold aim to develop into a top-three EV supplier within the U.S. by 2026, hopes that its lineup’s one-two punch will give it an opportunity to problem Tesla for the gross sales crown within the fledgling EV market.
The Tesla Mannequin 3 is the second-best promoting electrical automobile within the U.S. after the Tesla Mannequin Y small SUV. Ranked fifth is the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which serves a rising shopper demand for battery-electric SUVs.
Nonetheless, sedans have been a weak spot for auto gross sales over the previous a number of years, making Hyundai’s selection appear doubtlessly counterintuitive. However analysts say that battery-electric sedans just like the Ioniq 6 and Polestar 2, which additionally goals to dethrone the Mannequin 3, play a strategic position within the EV market, particularly for first-time consumers.
“As a result of sedans are usually priced considerably decrease than their SUV counterparts, they signify a extra reasonably priced solution to get into EVs,” stated Kim. “Assuming the worth of Hyundai’s new sedan undercuts the $40,000 IONIQ 5, it might signify an actual worth proposition for EV consumers.”
Just like the Ioniq 5, Hyundai’s new all-electric sedan shall be constructed on its Electrical World Modular Platform (E-GMP), an 800-volt electrical structure that permits sooner charging than comparably priced EVs, save for Tesla’s.
Hyundai has invested aggressively in increasing the Ioniq portfolio because it strives to go from a maker of reasonably priced, entry-level vehicles to a high world EV model identified for daring design. The automaker has pledged to spend greater than $10 billion within the U.S. by 2025 to develop know-how for electrical and autonomous autos and mobility functions for robotics.
Greater than half of that funding will fund a brand new EV plant and battery manufacturing facility in Georgia, the place Hyundai plans to construct a minimum of a few of the 23 EVs it plans to roll out by 2025, such because the Ioniq 7 three-row SUV, an vital section for drivers with giant households. The Ioniq 6 shall be inbuilt South Korea.
The Ioniq 5, which swept the World Automobile Awards this spring, confirmed that Hyundai is prepared to be daring with its EV design. That theme continues with the dome-shaped Ioniq 6, whose low hood and excessive roof make it curvier than most vehicles, stated SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai World Design Middle. The scale permit for a cocoon-like, high-ceilinged cabin the place occupants can loosen up or work.
A 64-color ambient lighting system helps “create a aware house that restores psychological vitality and enhances inspiration,” Lee stated.
Ioniq 6 will go on sale within the U.S. early subsequent yr. The value has not been introduced.