It’s a birthday that’s surprisingly symbolic, as rare as it is to find automotive manufacturers who believed in electric mobility so early—back when the market (and the customers) were still all about good old gasoline and diesel models.
An IONIQ lineup that keeps growing month after month
After Nissan, Renault, and Tesla, which took the lead as early as 2010 with the Leaf and in 2012 with the ZOE and Model S, we’re talking about Hyundai here, which in 2016 launched its very first 100% electric model, the IONIQ, at a time when the market was still in its infancy. This family sedan wasn’t devoid of echoes of some Japanese sedans of the era, such as the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight, which, though hybrid, also answered the need for energy efficiency and thus for aerodynamics. Since then, IONIQ still exists, but from a single model this name has evolved over the years into a true 100% electric family of models, now celebrating its 10th anniversary. It now counts four models, with the Inster, Kona, and Staria 100% electric variants joining in, which, notably, aren’t wearing an IONIQ prefix. The lineup today is ultra-prolific, ranging from a tiny city car for urban use (Inster) to a large family minivan (Staria Electric), via an urban SUV (Kona Electric), a large sedan (IONIQ 6), a mid-size SUV (IONIQ 5), and finally a very large seven-seat family SUV (IONIQ 9).
The Hyundai IONIQ 3 arrives to bolster the lineup
And, in addition to celebrating its tenth anniversary, the IONIQ lineup is set to grow with a new model, the IONIQ 3, a 100% electric compact city car that fills the gap between the small Inster and the larger IONIQ 5. It will begin deliveries in a few weeks, but it’s already available to order and can be configured online. Beyond its notably aerodynamic styling borrowed from its cousin Genesis GV60, and the cabin familiar to the other IONIQ models, it debuts Hyundai’s new in-house infotainment system, Pleos Connect, overseen by artificial intelligence. On board, rear-seat space is fairly generous, as is the trunk volume, which weighs in at 441 liters. Under the hood, the Standard and Long Range versions, which range from 136 to 147 horsepower, offer 344 to 496 km of range, which places it in the mid-range of the segment. For this new compact, expect a starting price of $33,000 for the Standard version (145 hp) equipped with the smallest battery (42 kWh / 344 km of range).
