Hyundai IONIQ hybrid for Oz

Hyundai has committed to launching its first hybrid model in Australia next year and it will be priced from the low $30,000s to compete directly with Toyota's Prius.

Speaking after the overnight global ‘tease’ of the ground-breaking IONIQ hybrid, local Hyundai executives have confirmed the conventional petrol-electric version of the all-new vehicle would go on sale Down Under in the second half of 2016.

But that’s just the first step in Hyundai Australia’s hybrid plans. Insiders told motoring.com.au that the company was completing a business case to add the plug-in versions of the Ioniq hatch “as soon as possible”.

The debut of a plug-in IONIQ would help separate the Korean offering from Toyota’s Prius, the fourth generation of which goes on sale early next year in Australia, where a plug-in version sold elsewhere remains off-limits.

Hyundai sources also claim the Ioniq will be “better looking, a better drive and more affordable” than Toyota's hybrid icon.

Underpinning the Ioniq is an all-new 'AE' platform that also forms the basis of the new Elantra small sedan and the next-generation i30 hatchback due to debut in 2017.

Key differentiators are a new front suspension design and fully independent rear suspension. Our Hyundai Australia source promises the local Ioniq will feature unique suspension calibration.

Pricing is still to be finalised, but Hyundai Australia is aiming at a low $30K starting price for the conventional hybrid, in line with the Prius (from $32,490)

Projected pricing for the plug-in hybrid version is “at least the same as the Korean-market Sonata plug-in”, meaning a price premium of less than $5000 for the Ioniq PHEV. Hyundai Australia is not interested in the pure-electric version of the IONIQ.

“The Sonata [plug-in] has a range of around 40km... we’re expecting at least the same if not better. That means the average commute should be able to be completed on EV mode alone,” our source stated.

If Hyundai's original i-oniq concept car is any guide, the IONIQ PHEV will come with an 80kW electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery, with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine increasing its driving range from an electric-only 120km to 700km.

Hyundai's first dedicated hybrid model – and the world's first car to be available with three different electrified powertrains -- will make its world debut in Korea in January, before being revealed publicly at the New York and Geneva motor shows in March.