Buyers waiting for the widely anticipated Hyundai Ioniq 5 battery-electric vehicle to reach showrooms will have to wait a little longer — about two months, to be more precise.
Exactly why is a matter of some debate, though it may simply have been due to logistics, rather than anything as serious as the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips. Regardless it means the South Korean BEV will only start showing up in U.S. dealer lots just before the end of the year.
Hyundai already has a relatively long-range battery-powered car on the market with the Kona EV. The Ioniq 5 is the first model to be underpinned by a unique, skateboard-like platform. At least three models have been confirmed using the E-GMP architecture, but company officials have begun hinting that more are on the way, possibly including the next-generation of the electric Kona.
New vehicle’s capabilities
The flexible platform and electrical system will be capable of operating at either 400 or 800 volts, allowing products like the Ioniq 5 to charge up quite rapidly — typically getting as much as an 80% top-off in under an hour using the newest of the public quick chargers.
The Hyundai BEV also will have “V2L,” or Vehicle-to-Load capabilities, meaning it could be used to provide power, much like a generator. That could be used at a worksite or campsite or to keep a house powered up in the event of a blackout.
Depending on market, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 will offer a variety of different battery options. The U.S. version will feature a long-range lithium-ion pack of 77.4 kilowatt-hours. Precise range has not yet been confirmed but that could put it at or around 250 miles. For global markets, Hyundai also will offer 58 and 72.6 kWh battery packs.
Hyundai has begun taking orders for the Ioniq 5 in Europe and touted an on-sale date of October for the States. That has now been pushed back to sometime in December. Production is set to begin on Oct. 8.
The why of the delay is uncertain. There has been some speculation the automaker was still working on maximizing range. And, like the rest of the industry, Hyundai has had its struggles getting enough semiconductors. That very well could slow production in the months ahead.
An official statement indicates Hyundai simply wanted to wait until it had enough vehicles in the U.S. so that the majority of dealers could have something on showroom floors, even if they weren’t ready to begin deliveries.
“It takes about eight weeks to get from the factory over here,” one Hyundai source said.
New EVs on the horizon
The Ioniq 5 will arrive at the beginning of what will become a historic wave of new battery-electric vehicles. As the 2021 model year wound down, automakers had 13 BEVs on the market, by our count. A report published by TheDetroitBureau.com on Sept. 13 listed 39 completely new battery-electric models expected to be on sale in the States by the end of next year.
Last December, the parent Hyundai Motor Group laid out plans to have at least 23 BEVs in production by 2025, including those under the Ioniq sub-brand and others sold through Hyundai. In May, the Korean carmaker announced that it will invest $7.4 billion in the United States alone by 2025 to develop and build BEVs.
The E-GMP platform also will underpin products for the Kia and Genesis brands. The luxury marque is launching two in the coming months, the Electrified G80 using the same platform as the gas-powered sedan, and the new GV60, an E-GMP-based sport-utility vehicle. Kia will bring out its own line-up of models starting with the EV6 it previewed last May.
For GREAT deals on a new or used Toyota check out Toyota of Orange TODAY!