Top tech coming to Ioniq first – no cheap electric models planned for lineup

Hyundai’s blossoming Ioniq all-electric family will showcase the company’s most cutting-edge and disruptive technology, with no room in the lineup for budget offerings or spec-stripped variants, it says.

With two models now out in the wild and a third on the way, the South Korean giant is ready to talk more broadly about the purpose and direction of its latest brand expansion, including future tech and its relative positioning within the company.

While Genesis continues to look after a more premium customer, Hyundai covers bases, including the more affordable end of the spectrum and its N cars cater for the performance hungry, Ioniq will appeal to a more tech-fascinated buyer.

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However, according to Hyundai Motor Company president and CEO Jaehoon (Jay) Chang, Ioniq will not be producing a budget or mass-market EV any time soon.

When asked if the Ioniq family had the potential to gain models under the initial Ioniq 5 pioneer, Hyundai’s top exec responded simply: “What would that leave for Hyundai?”

Chang went on to explain that the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and forthcoming Ioniq 7’s, nomenclature is not related to the size of a particular model, its chronological order or price, but instead reflects the level of technology each offers.

So while Hyundai will retain its share of the more affordable end of the overall line-up, Ioniq will continue to roll out models numbered upwards of 7 and for a more tech-hungry audience.

Some overlapping of wheelhouses will be accommodated by the strategy however, including the N family – which has been confirmed to break into electric territory with the Ioniq 5 N foray, and luxury features which continue to proliferate the entire company as Hyundai increases its premium stake.

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Meanwhile, Ioniq will test the water with more divisive advances including subscription features or “on demand” services as described by Hyundai Motor Company product and strategy executive vice president Thomas Schemera.

According to the former head of BMW M North America, the company is exploring the potential for Ioniq features that can be switched on for an additional one-off or ongoing payment, following in the footsteps of German brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

When asked about the more software-based options Schemera said “Technological, absolutely,” but more hardware-dependent subscriptions were also under consideration.

“Never say never. We have been working on this for years, we haven’t had the chance to sort it out so I cannot disclose so many things, but you can rest assured the next technological step will be a big one.”

Also soon to emerge will be built-in digital displays that become extensions of an owner’s computer or device, going beyond the current limitations of Apple CarPlay, for example.

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“That’s exactly what we are looking for and what we have been working on. It is in the development pipeline.”

Schemera was unable to predict the timeline of the new user interface expansion, but indicated that some features may be possible to introduce with existing models and even usnig over-the-air updates.

“It depends on the features,” he said. “Not everything is possible by software update. Sometimes you need to change significant hardware and parts to make it happen.”

While Hyundai’s growing portfolio continues to attract global attention and healthy sales, the Ioniq brand offers the company an outlet to be more experimental and take more risks than it might dare with the cash-cow favourites.

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Over the coming years, Ioniq concepts and production models will spearhead the latest tech and the most radical design directions for the company with greater flexibility offered for the various development teams, said Schemera.

“Ioniq plays a very important role. That’s why this is called a product lineup brand not a sub-brand and not a brand like Genesis.

“This is not about volumes or mass production. This is about setting trends, recognising lifestyles and fulfilling in the end requirements. If we sell a high number of these cars this was not the intention. The intention was trying out things, redefining and shifting paradigms.

“There’s always risk involved. We are convinced this will work but we also have the freedom to try things out and this is supported by our chairman”.

Ioniq’s third model, the Ioniq 7 large electric SUV will be revealed in 2024, joining its Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 passenger model siblings.