Hyundai Developing An Electric Car To Replace i10

According to a recent report that emerged on the internet, Hyundai is working on an entry-level electric car for the European market. The news has been confirmed by Hyundai Motor Europe marketing chief Andreas-Christoph Hofmann in an interview with Automotive News Europe. While the official timeline has not been revealed, the production model is expected to hit showrooms only after a few years.

The entry-level volume-based zero-emission vehicle could be a city runabout in the price range of 20,000 euros (Rs. 16.26 lakh approximately). It could replace the i10 compact hatchback and be positioned against small electric vehicles from the VW Group (VW, Skoda, Cupra, etc) in the Old Continent and they will, in turn, be underpinned by the MEB platform.

The South Korean auto major aims to introduce as many as eleven new electric vehicles in Europe by the end of this decade. Hoffman admitted that entry-level electric vehicles are difficult to sell profitably due to their competitive pricing and technical changes involved in electrifying them. Hyundai Motor Group is buoyed by the success of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 crossover already.

The firm is plotting an assortment of new EV launches across different segments with a hefty sum of investments across various fields as 19.4 trillion won will be put into electrification. A few weeks ago, Hyundai introduced the Ioniq 6 and the first customer units will reach Europe by the end of this calendar year and the deliveries will begin in early 2023.

Hyundai Motor Group is planning to retail 1.87 million battery-powered vehicles and launch 17 all-new models across Hyundai and Genesis brands. As for India, the brand is preparing to launch the Ioniq 5 electric vehicle in the coming months while the fourth generation Tucson will have its prices announced on August 4, 2022.

The company will bring in facelifted Creta and new-gen Verna next year while an India-specific electric vehicle is expected to launch sometime in 2024. It could be based on the modified version of Venue’s platform to compete against Tata Nexon EV and the upcoming Mahindra XUV400.