Hyundai: EV-ICE price parity timeline still not clear

It’s no secret that EVs are slowly getting cheaper as multiple Chinese auto brands engage in an out-and-out price war.

Hyundai is one brand that says it will steer clear of the EV price battles, but that doesn’t mean the Korean brand isn’t looking to offer cheaper EVs and narrow the price gap between its battery-electric and combustion-powered models.

A wide range of car-makers and industry experts have long speculated when there will be price parity between EV and ICE vehicles, the most recent among them being Stellantis, which forecast production costs to be on par within three years.

Volvo forecast back in 2022 that EVs will be as cheap as petrol cars by 2025, while Nissan has promised price parity between its upcoming EVs and its existing e-POWER electric-drive hybrid vehicles by 2026.

Meantime, Hyundai is taking a more agnostic approach to the debate, declaring that nobody truly knows when petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles will be offered at similar prices, and instead saying it’s focussed on the development of more affordable models of all types.

“What we are seeing during the last weeks and months, there’s a lot going on in regards of price adjustments,” said Hyundai Motor Europe marketing, product and public relations vice-president Andreas-Christoph Hofmann ahead of the Hyundai Inster’s global reveal today.

“Of course we are observing this very precisely. What we can see is of course a price reduction on EVs. When the [price] parity will be there to ICE, nobody knows at this stage, so we are more focusing on having affordable cars, affordable EVs, for our customers.

“That’s what we’re aiming for, especially with the new car [Inster] we have behind us.”

The 2024 Hyundai Inster is set to retail from less than €25,000 plus on-road costs when it launches in Europe later this year – the equivalent of about $A40,000.

A starting price like that in Australia would position it as the market’s cheapest electric SUV and one of its most affordable EVs, although the Inster is considerably smaller than similarly-priced electric hatchbacks from China like the MG4, BYD Dolphin and GWM Ora.

Instead of focussing on price, Hyundai intends to use its established brand image, design and tech innovations, a fully-loaded standard equipment list and the Inster’s versatile interior to promote its newest and smallest EV.

The Inster will be Hyundai’s most affordable electric model for the foreseeable future as the car-maker looks to simultaneously expand its dedicated IONIQ EV model range into more segments, with the large IONIQ 7 seven-seat SUV set to come next, followed by the Porsche Taycan-fighting IONIQ 6 N performance sedan.

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