Orders open permanently as production frees up for Korean brand’s popular electric vehicles
The ability to order a Hyundai IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 electric vehicle online in Australia is now permanent, as production and supplies of both popular EVs frees up.
Last year Hyundai received about 30,000 expressions of interest for the IONIQ 5 via its public website, but sold only around 700 examples of the popular electric SUV after opening separate online order books as shipments were confirmed for Australia.
But at the launch of the new IONIQ 6 electric sedan today, Hyundai said it is predicting it will import up to 3000 IONIQ EVs in 2023, including the hot IONIQ 5 N high-performance SUV late in the year.
It expects to double that number to 6000 in 2024, when the Hyundai IONIQ 7 large SUV is added to the line-up and IONIQ 5 N numbers climb.
“We’re getting more regular supply from our factory and we are very, very happy with that,” said Andrew Stamatakis, Direct to Customer Senior Manager at Hyundai Motor Company Australia.
As a result of that improved supply, Hyundai has abandoned the way it initially sold the IONIQ 5 via small batches online on a state-by-state approach.
IONIQ supplies are steady enough that Hyundai has 120 examples of the IONIQ 5 and 6 available for sale on its website now.
Hyundai IONIQ 5
Most of them are IONIQ 6s at the moment, but that number will vary as supplies arrive. Prior to launch almost 300 IONIQ 6s have been sold.
Hyundai has also removed geographical limits on who can buy an IONIQ vehicle.
“We had to do that [impose boundaries on sales] initially because we had few vehicles and our delivery agents were in metropolitan areas,” Stamatakis explained.
“We’ve changed that – we have taken the geofencing off. Anyone in any suburb in Australia can buy an IONIQ vehicle right now.”
In concert with that, Hyundai plans to expands its number of IONIQ delivery agents from 24 to between 90 and 100 by the end of 2024.
Stamatakis said Hyundai can currently deliver an IONIQ 5 or 6 to customers within three to four weeks of placing an order, if the car is on the website.
“Since we launched IONIQ 6 that’s the way we have gone about it – we’ve left the cars online, we’ve added more regularly and people have been buying at their leisure.
Hyundai IONIQ 6
“So we have transferred to an ‘always-on’ model.”
The next online step for Hyundai is build-to-order, whereby customers can customise interior trim and exterior paint combinations.
Stamatakis said that initiative didn’t prevent customers from visiting dealers to go through the process of learning about the car.
Mainstream Hyundai models with hybrid and electric powertrain options such as the upcoming new Kona Electric will remain available solely through the Hyundai Blue Drive franchised dealer network of 85 outlets.
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Keyword: Hyundai IONIQ EV online sales expanded