Hyundai is on a role. Global sales are up 4 percent despite the ongoing pandemic and supply chain problems, and sales outside his native South Korea are up an impressive 7 percent. Then there’s the small matter of the awards.
Of the top three finalists for World Car of the Year 2022, an award awarded by a jury of 102 motoring journalists from 33 countries, not one but two were from the Hyundai Motor Group: Hyundais Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6. Kia is minority owned by Hyundai and the EV6 is based on the same platform as the Ioniq 5. The other finalist was the Ford Mustang Mach-E, with which he made all three final EVs.
Hyundai also won World Car Design of the Year and World Electric Car, beating the Audi E-Tron GT and Mercedes-Benz EQS. And along with many other country-specific trophies, the Ioniq 5 was crowned German Car of the Year 2022 – no doubt a few noses to BMW, Audi and Mercedes even further apart.
Following the design and performance success of the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6, the automotive world has been eagerly awaiting what’s to come. 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 a drag coefficient of 0.21 (just a line behind the 0.20 claimed by EQS, currently the world’s most aerodynamic car), the new Hyundai has more than a touch of Porsche 911 over itself, although with four doors. SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of the Hyundai Global Design Center, refers to the expansive silhouette as “streamlined typology.”
Sitting between 2021’s Ioniq 5 and the upcoming Ioniq 7 electric SUV, the Ioniq 6 seems aimed at those looking for more performance than the family-oriented Ioniq 5 offers. In addition to an ultra-low drag coefficient, which should aid the EV’s as-yet-unlisted range, Hyundai’s electrified streamliner has additional aerodynamic features, including active front air valves, wheel gap reducers and optional digital side mirrors that are slimmer than traditional designs.
