Hyundai looking to move away from ICE vehicles, Australian arm wants to see larger EV uptake

Hyundai is said to be starting to move away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles – though its local arm Down Under believes the uptake in EVs can't justify it here just yet.

According to Reuters, Hyundai Motor Group is progressing with plans to halve the production of its ICE vehicles to ensure more resources are diverted to its EV development, led by its expanding Ioniq range, with top bosses understood having approved the strategy back in March.

The report also quotes Hyundai as saying it will aim for full electrification by 2040, coming in-line with the strategy of many European nations to phase out ICE vehicles by the same year, and other countries like Austria, India and the United Kingdom wanting to ban the development of all new non-electric cars before 2030.

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However, Hyundai's Australian arm believes the move away from ICE would be difficult to swing locally just yet, given the country's relatively slow uptake of EVs.

The Ioniq and Kona Electric will soon be joined by the Ioniq 5 in Hyundai's range of EVs in Australia, though a spokesperson for the company said the firm doesn't expect the EV SUV to take sales away from its ICE equivalent.

"Currently we expect little cross-over in customer demographic between the Ioniq 5 and ICE-powered SUVs," they said.

"Ioniq 5 is a specialist EV product which appeals to a specific group of customers with very particular needs – we therefore expect it to provide incremental volume.

"As EVs become more common, this may change, but with EV adoption at a low level in Australia we don’t expect EVs to cannibalise equivalent ICE vehicles anytime soon."

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The upcoming Ioniq 5 is expected to arrive in Australia over the next few months and before the end of the year, while the expanded range of Ioniq 6 and 7 models are set to be released in 2022 and 2024 respectively.

Although the cost of the Australian Ioniq 5 hasn't yet been released, Hyundai New Zealand put a price tag on the range today, giving us a rough guide of what to expect when it lands Down Under.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 (New Zealand)

• 58kWh 2WD – $79,990 (AU$74,300)
• 72.6kWh 2WD – $89,990 (AU$83,560)
• 72.6kWh 2WD Elite – $96,990 (AU$90,000)
• 72.6kWh AWD – $94,990 ($88,200)
• 72.6kWh AWD Limited – $109,990 (AU$102,150)/$112,990 with solar roof (AU$104,900)