US electric car giant Tesla faces a new challenge, after South Korea’s Hyundai Motor launched its Ioniq 6.
The launch follows Hyundai announcement of plans to build dedicated EV plants both at home and the US, where the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV 6 SUV together became the second-best selling EVs after Tesla and ahead of the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Hyundai and its affiliate Kia accounted for 13.5% of the EVs shipped globally – excluding China – in January-May, second only to Tesla’s 22% share.
The Ioniq 6 sedan is one of more than 31 electric models that Hyundai plans to introduce through 2030. The car will have a driving range of about 610 kilometres, 30% more than the Ioniq 5 crossover, Hyundai said.
“We are using the same (battery) cell chemistry but … we maximised the amount of batteries per each pack, enhancing energy density significantly,” Kim Yong-wha, an executive vice president at Hyundai, said.
Hyundai did not disclose the price of the Ioniq 6 and the market launch schedule will be announced later.
Kia recently adopted China’s CATL batteries for its cars sold in South Korea but the carmaker did not disclose the source for Ioniq 6 cars. Hyundai typically obtains its batteries from LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation’s SK On.
“Both vehicles address two major flaws that prior EV vehicles have had in the US market: lack of styling and range,” Ivan Drury, Edmunds senior manager of insights, said of the Ioniq 5 and EV 6.
- Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell
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