In an effort to gain a larger portion of the electric vehicle (EV) market, which is currently dominated by Tesla Inc, Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled its first electric sedan, the Ioniq 6, on Thursday. The South Korean manufacturer is placing its bets on the Ioniq 6.
In order to win a predicted 12 percent of the worldwide EV market, the Hyundai Motor Group, wants to launch more than 31 electric cars by 2030.
In order to go head-to-head with Tesla’s best-selling Model 3 sedan, Hyundai’s sedan will increase its electric vehicle range past that of its current crossovers and SUVs.
According to market researcher SNE Research, Hyundai and Kia were already the second-largest EV shippers outside of China in January to May of this year, with a combined 13.5 percent market share, trailing only Tesla at 22 percent.
According to Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, “The Ioniq 6 will be able to compete with Tesla in the volume EV sedan segment, considering its competitive cost and lengthy driving range.”
Due to multiple price increases by Tesla, the Ioniq 6 may benefit from its pricing in the EV sedan market, he continued.
According to Hyundai, the electric sedan will have a range of roughly 610 kilometers (380 miles), which is about 30% more 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 maximized the amount of batteries per each pack, boosting energy density dramatically.
The Ioniq 6 will be offered in South Korea this year, and the introduction of the American market is anticipated for the first quarter of 2019.
Hyundai stated that the Ioniq 6 introduced this year would use SK Innovation’s SK On batteries, and LG Energy Solution batteries will be used starting in 2019.
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 behind Tesla vehicles.
