Hyundai’s Ioniq brand just for BEVs

Hyundai’s Ioniq brand is now dedicated to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and will produce three models under it during the next four years.

It introduced the term Ioniq, which fuses “ion” and “unique”, when it announced Project Ioniq to focus on eco-friendly mobility, producing the Ioniq vehicle in 2016 with the choice of hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid and battery electric within a single body type.

Now Hyundai will concentrate on offering customer centric EV experiences centered on connected lifestyle solutions and will combine its present EV capabilities such as utra-fast charging with future innovations that combine design, technologies and services to integrate in-car and out-of-car experiences for a seamless journey.

Existing Ioniq vehicles (HEV, PHEV, EV) will not be housed under the new Ioniq brand.

Instead, Hyundai will be launching a range of numerically named EVs under the new brand built on the E-GMP platform, with the even numbers used for sedans and the odd numbers for SUVs.

The first model starting in early 2021 is the Ioniq 5 CUV based on the concept EV ‘45’, which Hyundai unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) 2019 in Frankfurt as a homage to its first concept car.

In 2022, Hyundai will introduce the Ioniq 6 sedan based on the company’s ‘Prophecy’ concept, unveiled in March; followed by Ioniq 7, a large SUV in early 2024.

“The Ioniq brand will change the paradigm of EV customer experience,” Hyundai executive vice president and global chief marketing officer Wonhong Cho says.

“With a new emphasis on connected living, we will offer electrified experiences integral to an eco-friendly lifestyle.”

Now, Ioniq represents Hyundai’s growing commitment to sustainability and innovation and will be instrumental in achieving the company’s clean mobility goals.

The vehicles will be inspired by past models, but they will be a bridge to the future, the company says.

The E-GMP EV-dedicated platform will allow Hyundai to reimagine the vehicle interior as “smart living space” with highly adjustable seats, wireless connectivity and features such as a glove box designed as drawers.

It will extend into user interfaces that will be simple, intuitive and ergonomically designed to help occupants feel at ease.

Hyundai recently announced it aims to sell a million units of BEVs and take 10% share to become a leader in the global EV field by 2025.

Under Strategy 2025, it aims to become the world’s third-largest automaker of eco-friendly vehicles by 2025, with 560,000 BEV sales in addition to fuel cell (FCEV) sales.

Hyundai celebrated the Ioniq launch by turning the London Eye into a giant letter “Q” using electric lights just before the official reopening of the famous attraction.