The Indian market will soon observe the launch of EVs from two big players, Hyundai and Kia. The upcoming EVs have already created a buzz in the Indian auto sector. Kia would be the first by launching the new EV6, which is speculated to come out sometime in June. Hyundai, on the other hand, will be coming up with the Ioniq 5 a couple of months later.
The EV6 has already stirred up the global market significantly. Kia has experienced a huge demand for its first-ever EV, and it is expected to sway the Indian market as well. However, the company could only allot 100 EV6s for the Indian market due to the massive global demand.
To give the Kia EV6 competition, Hyundai had earlier strategized a market import or CBU (completely built-up unit) of its EV to become the first to land on Indian roads. Now, however, the brand is looking to change its strategy to introduce the car via the CKD (completely knocked down) route, which means they would assemble the car in India itself. Due to this change of strategy from CBU to CKD, we can expect a huge price gap between the Kia EV6 and the Ioniq 5 due to customs duties, taxes, etc.
We have seen the incredibly hefty custom duties imported EVs attract in India, previously seen with the immensely tumultuous Tesla vs. the Indian government situation. As of now, imported EVs attract a 60 percent duty, excluding other taxes, whereas semi-knocked down units attract duties up to only 30 percent. Interestingly, a completely knocked down unit will only have to pay a customs duty of 15 percent only.
This could be why the brand is going for a CKD product launch instead of a complete import, to fall under the smallest duty slab. The global demand for the Ioniq 5 has pushed the launch much further down the year-end, and we can expect deliveries from early 2023.
Hyundai and Kia are sister brands that are very popular in India; hence the launch of both the cars, the Kia EV6 and the Kia Ioniq 5, are awaited by many. The EV6 and the Ioniq 5 are both based on Hyundai’s e-GMP platform. Both the cars are the flagship EVs of their respective brands, and their tech will pose serious competition to all the other EVs in the segment.
The global powertrain configurations of both the vehicles are quite different from one another, but the global prices are majorly in the same price bracket. The CBU import of both the vehicles was expected to raise the price bracket of the cars to up to 60lakhs ex-showroom. Now, after Hyundai went for CBU for Ioniq 5, a significant price gap will emerge, making the Ioniq 5 much more affordable.
The international launch of the Ioniq 5 has been very promising for Hyundai. The brand offers two variants internationally. The car is available with a 58kWh battery pack powering a 169hp motor. The other variant comes with a 72.6kWh battery pack powering two motors, available in two states of tune. Hyundai further plans to launch another model for the global market later this year that comes with a bigger battery pack of 77.4kWh.
Hyundai has planned to launch the base model for the Indian market with the 58kWh battery pack with the 169hp motor. The brand is planning this in order to raise the price gap further down for Ioniq 5. A brand source says that “We are targeting a sub Rs 50 lakh price”.
The Ioniq 5 has been a massive success for Hyundai globally. The car has won many laurels for the company, including the 2022 World Car of the Year award. The car has also bagged the World Design of the Year and the World Electric Car of the Year award. Hyundai hopes to create a massive impact in the Indian market as well.
Keyword: Hyundai To Introduce The Ioniq 5 Via The CKD Route