Hyundai Motor unveiled its first electric sedan, Ioniq 6, on July 14. The South Korean automaker is betting the Ioniq 6 will help it grab a bigger share of the electric vehicle (EV) market dominated by Tesla Inc.
The South Korean Motor Co. launched the car at the Busan International Motor Show in South Korea.
The Ioniq 6 is one of more than 31 electric models that Hyundai Motor Group – including Hyundai Motor, its sister company Kia Corp and premium brand Genesis – plans to introduce through 2030 to secure a projected 12% of the global EV market.
Hyundai’s sedan will expand its EV range beyond its current crossovers and SUVs to compete head-to-head against Tesla in a popular category.
Excluding China, the world’s biggest auto market, Hyundai and Kia together accounted for 13.5% of the EVs shipped globally in the January-May period this year, according to industry tracker SNE Research. That was second only to Tesla, which had a 22% share in the same period.
The Ioniq 6 can travel up to 610 kilometers (379 miles) on a single charge of its 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery, compared with 429 kilometers for the Ioniq 5
“We are using the same (battery) cell chemistry but … we maximised the amount of batteries per each pack, enhancing energy density significantly,” said Kim Yong Wha, an executive vice president at Hyundai.
It will come in two battery pack options – 53-kilowatt per hour (kWh) and 77.4 kWh – and will begin production at its Asan plant in South Korea later this year, Hyundai said.
Hyundai typically gets batteries from LG Energy Solution Ltd and SK Innovation’s SK On, and Kia recently adopted China’s CATL batteries for its cars sold in South Korea but the automaker did not disclose the source for Ioniq 6 cars.
Sales in South Korea will begin in September with a base price of 55 million won ($42,000), the company said. US sales will begin in early 2023 and the wider rollout will be announced later.
Prices for customers overseas haven’t been announced yet. Hyundai plans to invest 95.5 trillion won in electrification this decade, introducing at least 17 new models between this year and 2030 and targeting annual sales of 1.87 million EVs by the end of the period. The company is gunning for a 7% share of the global EV market by 2030 and an 11% share in the US.
The launch comes after Hyundai announced its plans to build dedicated EV plants both at home and in the United States, where the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV 6 SUV together became the second-best selling EVs after Tesla cars and ahead of Ford Motor Co’s Mustang Mach-E.