Hyundai Motor unveils its new electric vehicle to compete with Tesla
Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled its first electric sedan, the Ioniq 6, on Thursday in Seoul. The South Korean carmaker is hoping that the Ioniq 6 will help it take a larger portion of the Electric Vehicle (EV) market, which is now dominated by Tesla Inc.
In order to win a predicted 12% of the worldwide EV market, the Hyundai Motor Group, which consists of Hyundai Motor, its sister firm Kia Corp, and premium brand Genesis, wants to launch more than 31 electric cars by 2030.
Hyundai will battle against Tesla head-to-head in a popular segment with its sedan, which will increase its EV lineup beyond its present crossovers and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
According to industry watcher SNE Research, Hyundai and Kia collectively accounted for 13.5% of the EVs delivered globally in the January-May period this year, excluding China, the largest auto market in the world. Only Tesla had a larger stake during that time span with a 22 percent market share.
According to Hyundai, the Ioniq 6 will have a driving range of roughly 610 kilometres (380 miles), which is about 30% greater than the Ioniq 5 crossover.
Kim Yong Wha, an executive vice president of Hyundai, stated, We are employing the same (battery) cell chemistry but we maximised the quantity of batteries per each pack, boosting energy density dramatically.
The cost of the Ioniq 6 was kept a secret by the car company.
Production will start at Hyundai's Asan facility in South Korea later this year and will be available in two battery pack sizes: 53 kWh and 77.4 kWh. The timeline for the market debut will be revealed later.
Hyundai generally purchases its batteries from LG Energy Solution Ltd. and SK Innovation's SK On, while Kia recently switched to China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) batteries for its cars marketed in South Korea. However, the manufacturer withheld the supplier for the Ioniq 6 models.
The debut comes after Hyundai revealed its intentions to establish EV-specific manufacturing facilities both domestically and in the US, where the Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV 6 SUV jointly overtook Ford Motor Co.'s Mustang Mach-E to rank as the second-best selling EVs after Tesla vehicles.
According to Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights at Edmunds, "Both cars solve two fundamental faults that preceding EV vehicles have had in the U.S. market: lack of aesthetics and range."
