Fresh batch of award-winning electric crossovers up for grabs within days – with a few catches
The next batch of Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric crossovers will go on sale on December 16 – but only for those that live in Sydney or Canberra.
Even then, you could be waiting until the middle of 2022 for delivery of the 2021 carsales Car of the Year, with Australia still well down the IONIQ 5 pecking order compared with other markets.
Hyundai this week contacted some of the 15,000-odd people who registered their details on the company’s website to let them know a new batch would go on sale at noon (AEST) next Thursday.
“The second online exclusive release of the all-new IONIQ 5 will be brought to you by Hyundai Australia at 12pm AEST 16th December,” the marketing email stated.
But in an effort to help manage the ordering and communication processes – which came under fire when the first batch of 240 was quickly snapped up in October – the company is taking a state-by-state approach. And it’s NSW and the ACT first in line.
But vast chunks of Australia will be excluded. All ordering is done online but only 11 dealers are handling IONIQ 5 deliveries Down Under – and all of them are in capital cities except for a dealer on the Gold Coast.
Buyers from regional areas – which includes Wollongong and Newcastle – are being told “the IONIQ 5 is not yet available in your region”.
Not that it’s likely to slowly the crush. Hyundai has previously said it is only getting an allocation of 400 IONIQ 5 vehicles to sell this year, leaving about 160 remaining.
While the company is not saying how many will go on sale next week, it’s likely to be fewer than 160 so that people in other states get a crack over coming weeks.
And the state-by-state ordering “won’t affect delivery timing”, a Hyundai Australia spokesperson stressed to us, emphasising that the new approach of selling the next batch of IONIQ 5s was about controlling the inevitable rush for orders for such a limited number of cars.
The online ordering system crashed after sales opened for the previous allocation of IONIQ 5s, resulting in many disgruntled would-be owners.
That said, even if you’re one of the lucky ones who has an order accepted, Hyundai is warning “we expect delivery times for the second release of IONIQ 5 could take six months or more”. So you best not sell the Tesla just yet…
There’s no change to the IONIQ 5 line-up, with a single highly-specced trim level available in both single-motor rear-wheel drive form for $71,900 plus on-road costs or dual-motor AWD guise for $75,900 plus ORCs.
The only addition is that a new Gravity Matte Gold paint colour is now available as a $1000 option.
Keyword: More Hyundai IONIQ 5s on sale next week