South Korean automaker Hyundai has officially rolled out its maiden electric vehicle range, an Ioniq full electric vehicle, in Australia and stated that the car will be the sole electric vehicle to be sold less than AUD50,000.
The Ioniq full electric vehicle will be available for purchase from the second week of December 2018.
The rollout of the Ioniq electric vehicle will be the first of a wide array of EVs from a number of automakers over the next one year, in the price range between AUD45,000 and AUD55,000. The automakers include American electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Hyundai’s sister concern Kia Motors, and Japanese carmaker Nissan.
The Ioniq electric vehicle will be available for purchase from 18 dealerships of the carmaker located across the country. The company, however, has not disclosed about the number of models to be available for sale or the projected sales figures.
The sales of electric vehicles in Australia are far less compared to the sales of the same vehicles in western countries. Australia contributes to only 0.2 percent of overall new vehicle sales and has recorded sales of nearly 8,000 vehicles, including hybrids, so far.
The carmaker is rolling out three variants of Ioniq simultaneously and it serves as a key reference point to customers about the differing up-front costs of full electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and plug-in hybrids and provides some information into their running costs.
The company confirms that the Ioniq electric vehicle’s base variant will carry a price-tag of AUD44,990 plus on-road costs, the hybrid will cost AUD33,990, with the plug-in hybrid priced at AUD40,990. The premium versions will be pricier between AUD4,000 and AUD5,000 more than the base models.
Hyundai will host industry representatives and automotive journalists at a series of rollout events and test drives for the 2019 Ioniq in Brisbane.
The Ioniq full electric vehicle is powered by a 28kWh lithium-ion polymer battery that can cover a distance of 230kms in “real-world” and can support fast-charging of up to 100kW DC.
Propelling the Ioniq plug-in hybrid is a 8.9kWh battery that enables the vehicle to cover a distance of 63kms prior to using the petrol engine. The Ioniq hybrid is powered by a petrol engine and a 1.56kWh battery that gives it a milage of 100 km for 3.4 liters.
The Ioniq full electric vehicle will be powered by a high-output 88 kW permanent-magnet synchronous motor that will churn out a top torque of 295Nm with instant responsiveness that will provide a more powerful acceleration compared with similar internal combustion engine models.