The Iioniq 6, Hyundai Motor Co’s first electric sedan was launched today with the intention of directly competing with Tesla’s Model 3 sedan, and grabbing a larger share of the Electric Vehicle (EV) market so far dominated by Tesla Inc.
Hyundai Motor Group, comprising Hyundai Motor, Kia Corp and Genesis plan to introduce more than 31 electric vehicle models through 2030, and the Ioniq 6 is the first in the line-up. With these launches, Hyundai Motor Group aims to secure at least 12 percent of the global EV market.
The sedan launched by Hyundai expands its EV range beyond crossovers and SUV’s, and is intended to compete directly with the best-selling Model 3 sedan from Tesla Inc.
According to industry tracker SNE Research, Hyundai and Kia were the second largest shippers of EV’s globally with a combined market share of 13.5 percent, which was second only to Tesla at 22 percent.
The Ioniq 6 will be priced in the range of 55 million won (USD41,949.51) to 65 million won for the South Korean market.
Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment and Securities, said that the Ioniq 6, with its long driving range and competitive pricing, will be able to compete with Tesla in the volume EV market. He added that the Ioniq 6 would be able to leverage on better pricing, since Tesla has increased the price of its sedan several times in the recent past.
Ioniq 6 to have a longer driving range
In a statement, Hyundai said that the Ioniq 6 will have a driving range of approximately 610 kilometers, which is 30 percent more than the Ioniq 5 crossover model.
Executive Vice President at Hyundai, Kim Yong Wha, mentioned that the company was using the same battery chemistry, but has increased the number of batteries per pack, which significantly increased the energy density.
The car will be available in two battery pack options, 53 kWh and 77.4 kWh, and will commence production at its plant in Asan, South Korea, later this year according to a statement by the company.
The statement further added that the Ioniq 6 would be available in South Korea later this year, and its launch in the US market would be scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
The company mentioned that the car launched this year would source battery packs from SK Innovation, and from next year would utilise batteries from LG Solutions.
The launch of the Ioniq 6 was announced after the company had announced plans to build dedicated EV factories in South Korea and the US. In the US market, the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6 became the second-best selling electric vehicles after Tesla’s cars, and ahead of the Mustang Mach-E by Ford Motor Co.