Hyundai plotting sub-$25,000 electric car

Hyundai has made no secret of its intention to become one of the world’s top-selling EV brands, and key to realising its ambitions will be offering a sub-$25,000 electric car.

An EV with mainstream appeal and budget pricing that matches entry-level combustion car affordability like the Hyundai Venue (from $20,940) and Hyundai i30 (from $23,420) will happen, Hyundai execs insist.

“We should see some almost parity [pricing] with internal combustion engine vehicles, hopefully by the end of the decade,” Hyundai Australia’s product planning manager Chris Saltapidas told carsales.

During the national launch of the all-new Hyundai IONIQ 5, which sold out in just two hours, Saltapidas wouldn’t be drawn on details but suggested that EV prices will come down sharply in coming years.

“Obviously we can’t talk about future product and our plans, but I believe as battery technology improves in the current decade … EVs will become easier to access for most consumers,” he said.

Saltapidas added that Hyundai “can’t really point at definitive timeframes around our specific products or when we’ll see those at certain price points”.

However, the car-maker’s stated goal of launching 23 new EVs by mid-decade – and with Australia having already committed to introducing “every one of Hyundai’s new EVs to the local market” – suggests a cut-price Hyundai EV is not too far away.

The first budget-priced EV from Hyundai is expected to debut around 2023 in the form of a compact city SUV with a 300km range, potentially christened the IONIQ 1.

Earlier this year, Hyundai Australia’s chief operating officer John Kett said: “We are committed to expanding our EV portfolio across Australia, starting with the new IONIQ 5 SUV later this year and shortly followed by the IONIQ 6 sedan and IONIQ 7 large SUV.

“Our aim is to be a leading Australian EV provider,” he said.

Like most major global car-makers, Hyundai is investing tens of billions of dollars to ramp up its EV portfolio, with its scalable E-GMP architecture underpinning the product assault.

Combined, Hyundai and Kia predict they’ll sell one million EVs by 2025.

Battery costs have been falling steadily over the past 10 years, with Bloomberg New Energy Finance reporting a drop from $US1200/kWh in 2010 to $US137 in 2020, although the reductions could stall in the short term due to rising commodity prices in the mining sector.

The Hyundai IONIQ is currently the brand’s most affordable EV priced at $49,970 plus on-road costs, while the Kona EV SUV sells from $54,500 plus ORCs.

However, those vehicles are based on older technology.

Hyundai’s pioneering IONIQ 5 is an eye-watering $71,900 plus ORCs proposition, making it one of the most expensive cars the Korean brand sells here.

The cheapest EV currently available from a mass-market brand in Australia is the Chinese-built MG ZS EV, pegged at $44,990 drive-away, while another Chinese car brand, BYD, is proposing to sell a sub-$35,000 compact SUV and hatchback next year.

Asked if iconic Excel name – potentially badged IONIQ Excel – could be revived for an affordable EV, Saltapidas said (with a smile): “We’ll consider everything.”