Affordable electric Hyundai N-car is “priority number one”

A compact, affordable electric N-car is the top priority for Hyundai N over the coming years as it amps up its electrification efforts, and executive technical advisor Albert Biermann is essentially dedicating the rest of his tenure with Hyundai to delivering such a product.

Speaking to media at the Australian launch of the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, Biermann said the Korean car-maker’s performance sub-brand was forced to go upmarket with its first EV by the lack of available hardware in the mainstream segments and lower echelons of the market.

“We are intensely looking… what do we have in the pocket and how do we make the fun machine out of what we have?” he said.

“This process has been going on intensely for quite some time because for me the most important thing is to come up with a smaller, more affordable N-car… and right now we had no other choice than escaping from that price point.

“We need this smaller segment [electric] N-car and for the rest of my term within the Hyundai Motor Group, this is my absolute priority number one: to come up with the concept for a car or two cars, whatever, where we can deliver the true N-car in the more affordable segment, but of course with the same level of fun or even higher level of driving fun.

“This is, I think, job number one for N at this point when we look forward into the future.”

Biermann has previously been outspoken about the limitations of a 400-volt electrical architecture and track compatibility, especially when it comes to a possible electric i30 N hot hatch successor, while global N boss Till Wartenberg said in 2022 that a sub-IONIQ 5 N EV offering similar performance was a good six to eight years away.

The new-generation Hyundai Kona Electric has been touted as the most likely candidate for a sub-$100,000 N makeover, given the wider Kona portfolio was primarily designed and developed as an EV from the outset.

Such a vehicle would also provide Hyundai with a smaller crossover sibling to the IONIQ 5 N, an important detail since the current Kona will ultimately replace the i30 once the hatch (as we know it) is retired later this decade.

Biermann indicated that Hyundai’s upcoming IMA platform might be a better fit for such a product because it’s all about system development and scalability, but this isn’t expected to launch until at least 2026.

The recent axing of the i20 N and i30 N hatch from the European market should spur an acceleration of these progressions, given the only N products remaining will be the $100K-plus IONIQ 5 N and upcoming IONIQ 6.

“We’re still comparing different concepts… I keep pushing that we keep going and going and accelerate and push to deliver this kind of vehicle,” Biermann reiterated.

“For me it’s the most important thing N has to do.”

With a concrete timeline unconfirmed and no positive signs on the horizon, hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) technology could be a handy and time-effective middle ground technology to continue offering truly accessible Hyundai performance models to the public.

Biermann confirmed more powerful hybrids are already in the works for other parts of the Hyundai Motor Group and that he’d identified a couple of opportunities for their application within a performance context.

“I see an opportunity to have an N-car as a hybrid, at least let’s say for i30 N Sedan – that could be an option,” he said.

“If it were to happen or not I cannot tell you at this point.

“From a technical point of view it’s possible… also I’m pushing another project for a small car with a hybrid concept, but this is too early to say if there’s any chance to bring it to our customers.

“We have to accept there’s a transition phase [to EVs] and this transition phase is very different in timing in different regions… and I strongly suggest within our company that we also offer hybrid solutions also for smaller N-car segments.

“I think they can help to make the transition a little smoother”.

Beyond the mentioned i30 Sedan N hybrid there are two other main hybrid possibilities Biermann could be referring to, at least with relevance to Australia, in the form of a Kona N hybrid or a second-generation i20 N hot hatch, potentially leveraging hardware and knowhow from the rabid World Rally Championship cars.

Both the Kona and i30 Sedan are offered globally with hybrid powertrains already, while the i20 portfolio features mild-hybrid technology in non-N variants overseas – but not in the N.

A second-generation i20 N featuring a hybrid powertrain would not only cater to fans of cheap performance cars in this transitional phase referred to by Biermann, but also strengthen the relationship between Hyundai’s street cars and its WRC racers.

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