Is this Australia's new cheapest electric car? Hyundai tease new sub-$35,000 Inster electric SUV to undercut the BYD Dolphin, GWM Ora and MG4

Hyundai is preparing to launch Australia’s cheapest electric car.

The South Korean maker has teased its new Inster mini electric SUV.

It is based on the current Casper micro SUV that is available in Korea and Hyundai has previously said it was targeting a circa €20,000 ($32,500) starting price for the EV.

This would undercut the current cheapest EVs on sale by a significant margin. 

The GWM Ora electric hatchback starts at $35,990 drive-away, BYD’s Dolphin kicks off at $38,890 (before on-road costs) and the cheapest MG4 is $39,990 drive-away.

Hyundai hasn’t revealed many details of the Inster but it will have a driving range up to 355km.

The company said the Inster “will set new standards in terms of driving range, technology, and safety features, redefining what buyers can expect from a vehicle in this class”.

A teaser image shows the car's taillights, which has the same digital retro vibe as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 that means it could borrow design cues from its bigger sibling and the petrol Casper.

The Inster will be revealed at Busan motor show at the end of June with production believed to kick off early next year and global deliveries to commence in mid-2025.

Established carmakers are now preparing to roll out an array of cheap, small EVs targeted at the everyday driver.

Volkswagen recently confirmed it’ll build a circa-$30,000 EV with its coming ID.1 hatchback. 

That price puts it in the same ballpark as an entry-level Mazda3 or a fully-loaded Mazda2.

The German company is also developing a Polo-sized ID.2, which will spawn an electric hatchback from Cupra and Skoda.

Jeep, Citroen and Renault are rolling out little EVs at a similar price and Kia will launch the EV3 small electric SUV in Australia next month.

Kia will have a version of the Inster, too, likely to be named the EV2.