2024 Hyundai Inster could become Australia’s cheapest electric SUV
Hyundai locks in the nameplate and cruising range of its all-new pint-size Casper-based EVThe long-awaited Hyundai Casper EV will be officially known as the 2024 Hyundai Inster when it makes its world debut later this month, due to the number of changes between the all-new affordable small electric SUV and its combustion-powered donor model.
Speaking to global media at an exclusive preview event, Hyundai Motor Europe marketing, product and public relations vice-president, Andreas Christoph Hofmann, said the Korean brand felt the Inster deserved its own nameplate because it will be very different to the Casper sold in Korea.
“We thought this car deserves a different name… we looked very much into the focus and target groups we have for this car and ‘Inster’ gives a fresh spirit to the car, and of course it means innovation and this car will deliver a lot of innovation,” he said.
“The name ‘Inster’ stands for ‘intimate and innovative’ – it celebrates its audience’s love for seamless social interactions and connectivity.”
Hyundai Australia started the trademarking process to secure the Inster nameplate locally back in December and succeeded in February, when the new name was filed exclusively under Class 12, specifically: “automobiles; sports cars; vans; dump trucks; motor buses; electric vehicles; sports utility vehicles”.
Judging by the seven teaser pics released this morning, the Inster will be slightly bigger than the Casper and flaunt a large degree of digitisation in its exterior design, via a couple of IONIQ 5-inspired touches like the parametric pixel lights front and rear, plus the redesigned headlight surrounds.
While the ICE-powered Casper was revealed back in 2021 and is only sold in Korea, the Hyundai Inster will be a global model.
A battery-electric derivative of the pint-size Casper SUV has been on the cards from the outset, along with expectations of an Australian introduction despite its European focus.
However, regional executives speaking at the WA Hyundai Electrified conference last month let slip that something very exciting was coming to the brand’s Australian EV portfolio later this year.
No other hints were dropped beyond that, but with the IONIQ 5 N and new-generation Kona Electric already here, the Casper-based electric SUV appears the most likely new EV candidate for Australia.
Very few details about the diminutive EV have been shared so far beyond the unexpected nameplate and a targeted maximum WLTP range of up to 355km, but a circa-€20,000 ($A32,683) starting price has long been speculated.
As carsales understands it, the Hyundai Inster’s local starting price is likely to be closer to €25,000 ($A40,851), which would still make it one of the country’s cheapest EVs and certainly the nation’s most affordable electric SUV, even if Hyundai says it won’t enter the local EV pricing war any time soon.
As we’ve reported, the Hyundai i10-based Casper is built at the Korean car-maker’s Gwangju factory, but the all-electric Inster will undergo radical changes to tailor it for European tastes.
That includes stretching its wheelbase by a substantial 250mm to provide more interior space, fitting it with an EV powertrain powered by a lithium iron phosphate battery and, hopefully, structural and specification upgrades to make it eligible for a full five-star NCAP safety rating in both Europe and Australia.
The global reveal of the 2024 Hyundai Inster is set for June 27.
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