Hyundai Motor unveils its new electric vehicle to compete with Tesla

14 Jul 2022 , 09:18 AM

Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled its first electric sedan, the Ioniq 6, on Thursday in an effort to gain a larger portion of the electric vehicle (EV) market, which is currently dominated by Tesla Inc. The South Korean manufacturer is placing its bets on the Ioniq 6.

In order to win a predicted 12% of the worldwide EV market, the Hyundai Motor Group, which consists of Hyundai Motor, its sister firm Kia Corp, and premium brand Genesis, wants to launch more than 31 electric cars by 2030.

Hyundai will battle against Tesla head-to-head in a popular segment with its sedan, which will increase its EV lineup beyond its present crossovers and SUVs.

According to industry watcher SNE Research, Hyundai and Kia collectively accounted for 13.5% of the EVs shipped globally in the January-May period this year, excluding China, the largest auto market in the world. Only Tesla had a larger stake during that time span with a 22% market share.

According to Hyundai, the Ioniq 6 will have a driving range of roughly 610 kilometres (380 miles), which is about 30% more than the Ioniq 5 crossover.

Kim Yong Wha, an executive vice president of Hyundai, stated, “We are employing the same (battery) cell chemistry but… we maximized the number of batteries per pack, boosting energy density dramatically.
Production will start at Hyundai’s Asan facility in South Korea later this year and will be available in two battery pack sizes: 53 kWh and 77.4 kWh.

The debut comes after Hyundai revealed its intentions to establish EV-specific manufacturing facilities both domestically and in the US, where the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV 6 SUV jointly overtook Ford Motor Co.’s Mustang Mach-E to rank as the second-best selling EVs behind Tesla vehicles.