Hyundai i30 production line. Source: Hyundai
South Korean automaker Hyundai is stepping closer to jumping into the lower end of the EV market, and may offer two small compact electric vehicles for less than €20,000 (just under $A30,000 converted.)
The reports in local media follow comments in July from Hyundai Motor Europe marketing chief Andreas-Christoph Hofmann that is already working on an all-electric successor to the i10.
However, Hyundai’s proprietary E-GMP – the Electric Global Modular Platform – architecture, while scalable, is probably not suited for a vehicle that would be an effective replacement for the i10, which measures just 3.67 metres long and 1.68 metres wide.
Does this mean that Hyundai is also developing a new compact EV architecture, or working on another company’s relevant architecture? Questions like these will need to await an official release.
Even the existence of these two compact and affordable EVs is not entirely new, with reports from supplier BorgWarner in June 2021 and August 2022 indicating Hyundai was working on something compact and electric.
Hyundai plans an electric successor the the i10 mini car (above) it sells in Europe and the UK. Source: Hyundai
And if Hyundai is to continue to compete effectively in Europe, it was always going to need an affordable compact EV to rival similar cars planned by European heavyweights like Volkswagen Group, which is planning to launch in 2025 small affordable EVs though its Cupra, Skoda, and Volkswagen brands.
What we do know is that all reports agree that Hyundai is aiming for the two new EVs to launch at under €20,000, which, if they were to also launch in Australia, would put them under the $A30,000 price tag.
Speaking to Automotive News Europe in July, Hyundai Motor Europe’s marketing chief, Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, confirmed the existence of an entry-level EV for Europe but that it would take time.
“Everybody in the industry knows the target of this kind of vehicle is €20,000,” he told the Automotive News Europe Congress in Prague, referring to the target pricing for small EVs.
But even with the lower price tag, Hyundai is still expecting the cars to be low on profitability due to their low pricing and the technical problems inherent in electrifying small vehicles.
Hofmann also told Automotive News Europe that Hyundai is aiming at launching an additional 11 more fully electric vehicles in Europe by 2030, to accompany the existing Ioniq 5 compact crossover and the recently unveiled Ioniq 6 sedan, which is due to arrive in Europe by year’s end.
Meanwhile, the future Ioniq 7 SUV will eventually make it to Europe, but is mainly designed for the American market.
Keyword: Hyundai reportedly set to launch two low-cost electric cars in Europe