Hyundai is on a roll. Global sales have increased 4 percent despite ongoing pandemics and supply chain problems, and sales outside its home country of South Korea have increased by an impressive 7 percent. Then there is the small question of prices.
Of the top three 2022 World Car of the Year finalists, an award given by a jury of 102 car journalists from 33 countries, not one but two from Hyundai Motor Group: Hyundais Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Kia is minority owned by Hyundai, and its EV6 is based on the same platform as the Ioniq 5. The other finalist was the Ford Mustang Mach-E – making all the last three electric cars.
Hyundai also named World Car Design of the Year and World Electric Car and beat the Audi E-Tron GT and Mercedes-Benz EQS. And along with many other country-specific trophies, the Ioniq 5 was named German Car of the Year in 2022 – no doubt putting a few noses on BMW, Audi and Mercedes even further out of line.
After the design and performance success of the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6, the car world has eagerly looked at what will follow. That wait is now over. Hyundai plans to introduce 17 EV models over the next eight years, starting with the Ioniq 6.
With its aerodynamically efficient profile, which gives the Ioniq 6 an air resistance coefficient of 0.21 (just a little behind the 0.20 that EQS claims is currently the world’s most aerodynamic car), the new Hyundai has more than a touch of Porsche 911 above it, albeit with four doors. SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of Hyundai Global Design Center, refers to the sweeping silhouette as “streamliner typology. “
Sitting between 2021’s Ioniq 5 and the upcoming one Ioniq 7 electric SUV, the Ioniq 6 seems to be aimed at people looking for more performance than the family-oriented Ioniq 5 provides. In addition to an ultra-low drag coefficient, which should help with the EV’s unspecified range, Hyundai’s electrified streamlines have additional aero features, including active front air flaps, wheel gap reducers and optional digital side mirrors that are slimmer than traditional designs.