Hyundai trademarks IONIQ nameplates 1 through 10

Hyundai has gone on a trademarking frenzy to secure every feasible ‘IONIQ’ nameplate it can as the Korean brand continues working towards an all-electric future.

Much like Kia Motors did in March with its ‘EV’ portfolio, the Hyundai Motor Company has filed trademark applications for the IONIQ 1 through 10 nameplates, indirectly identifying what’s to come from the ambitious auto giant’s burgeoning electric vehicle endeavours.

The 10 recent submissions all come in the wake of ‘IONIQ T7’ and ‘IONIQ T10’ being filed earlier this year, providing and insight into Hyundai’s future line-up of passenger and commercial EVs, though there’s no guarantee every one of the nameplates will appear in showrooms.

Hyundai and Kia are sister brands and share key platform, powertrain and electronic component across their core mass-market models, but they regularly forge their own paths with niche models like the Hyundai i30 N and Kia Stinger.

They also have differing naming strategies; the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 are essentially the same vehicle under their sheetmetal, but wear different numerical designations.

Another example of this is the upcoming Hyundai IONIQ 7 large SUV, the Kia counterpart of which is the EV9.

So while Hyundai is securing every sub-11 IONIQ name, they won’t necessarily correlate to a matching Kia, though there will be a lot of mechanical similarities and inevitably some overlap between each brands’ battery-electric models.

However, it’s difficult to accurately forecast exactly which new Hyundai IONIQ EVs are on the way, thanks in part to the second-generation Kona that was primarily developed as an EV, thereby ruling out a Hyundai IONIQ-badged sister model for the upcoming Kia EV3 – at least for the foreseeable future.

That said, the IONIQ T10 badge is widely expected to be seen on a full-size electric pick-up aimed at the Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T, so the securing of ‘IONIQ 10’ suggests there’s potential for a full-size off-road electric SUV from Hyundai.

Whatever the case, it’s clear Hyundai is gearing up for an EV onslaught and if its local division’s previous form is anything to go by, a lot of those new electric models are a strong chance for Australia.

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