Hyundai Ioniq News

You’re a new-energy world leader Australia, don’t let anybody tell you any differently. You’re on the cusp of a cheap electricity boom which will only supercharge the transition to electric vehicles.I really don’t like the term “new energy” and I’m embarrassed I used it at all, let alone in the first four words of this story.Forgive me, but it’s now what the industry is calling electricity in relation to EVs and hybrid cars. There’s nothing new about electricity, it’s been keeping the lights on for 150 years, although its success in powering vehicles took longer and this was partly due to not being able to store it in batteries.There’s a lot of emotion in how electricity is produced and also in the viability of electric cars and I don’t really understand why. If I hear another EV naysayer roll out the tired old line about energy prices being prohibitive to running an electric car I’ll ask them which oil companies or coal mines they own.And the same goes for those who talk about the electricity grid not having the capacity to handle the uptake of EVs. Because neither view is based on actual evidence - well not current evidence.That's because currently batteries installed in both private homes and public community locations are creating the next big change that'll see energy prices drop.Australia is a world leader in both the home installation of solar panels (photovoltaic) and the uptake of home batteries to store the electricity the solar generates.According to the Clean Energy Council, at the close of 2025 a third of residential homes in Australia had roof-top solar.  As of 2026, according to International Energy Agency data, Australia leads the world in photovoltaic (solar) uptake per capita.The affordable price of home solar panels of about $8000 on average for a 6.6kW system (after the Federal Government rebate) has made the technology accessible and popular.  Australia also leads the world when it comes to battery installation. Global energy consultancy Rystad Energy says energy storage in the form of batteries is surging, with Australia, China, the UK, US and Germany the main drivers.Batteries small enough to power homes or large scale to power entire suburbs store energy from solar or wind. It’s these batteries that take the unpredictability out of renewable energy.The arguments of solar not being readily available at night or on cloudy days are no longer valid when the energy from the previous month has been bottled and ready for use.It’s this availability that's expected to bring energy prices down. That’s because in times of high demand fossil fuel power stations are expensive, especially gas-fired power stations which are often brought online in times of high demand. This is a major cause of high electricity prices.Storage of electricity in batteries works on the same principle as rainwater in a dam for public use or a tank attached to a house for home use.Home batteries are on the pricey side up front, with a decent-sized unit (10-15kWh) costing up to $16,000, but the Federal Government battery rebate can reduce that by $252 per kWh, or about $4000.Yes, that’s an initial outlay of $20,000 for solar and a battery but you won’t be at the mercy of energy providers any more because you’ll be storing whatever you don’t use. If you’re running an electric car and have a wall unit installed you’re laughing.Not everybody can afford that outlay and many houses aren’t new enough to support larger batteries. The good news is massive public batteries are being introduced. They’ll store electricity from renewable sources and supply it to households.It’ll have to be supported by the old ways too - coal and gas-fire power stations - but change doesn’t happen overnight.The cost of construction of a large-scale battery storage station is now equal to that of building a gas-fired plant. This is really important and will help motivate the shift for an industry that’s resistant to change.A report this week by Japan’s Nikkei Asia quoted data showing battery energy storage stations in China cost A$111 per megawatt hour in 2025, a drop of 27 per cent compared to 2024. That cost is almost equal to the A$110 per megawatt from a coal-fired plant. The key to cost-effective renewable generation and supply of electricity in a way that meets the growing demand of our lives with all our home technology and increasing uptake of electric cars is batteries.Battery tech is now advancing at a rapid pace and that development is led by countries like Australia and China. And this will mean a reduction of consumer energy prices because the cost of its generation is coming down.The final piece of the puzzle are electric vehicles which also operate as mobile power stations. The vehicle-to-load (V2L) function is becoming more common.V2L is offered on a number of models such as the Volkswagen ID.5, Kia EV3, Hyundai Ioniq 5, MG S5, Geely EX5 and BYD Sealion 7, and allows owners to store power in the car or use the electricity in the car’s battery to run appliances. It’ll be a long time before coal and gas is phased out and it will play a backup role for the new system for many years (or decades) ahead, but it’s nice to know that it now looks like our energy will be cleaner and cheaper. 

Hyundai has established Ioniq as a sub-brand in China, elevating the South Korean maker’s EV line-up to stand-alone status in a bid to outflank the increasing number of pure-electric competitors it faces in the critical Chinese market.In announcing the move, Hyundai said, “In China, Ioniq will evolve beyond a product line-up into a broader mobility ecosystem tailored to local customers. “While maintaining Hyundai Motor’s globally proven standards in safety and quality, Ioniq is being redefined through localised technologies, services and user experiences for China’s fast-evolving NEV market,” it said.Ioniq’s initial China market-specific initiatives include introduction of autonomous driving systems developed with local partners, and for the first time, an Ioniq incorporating an internal-combustion engine in upcoming Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs). Hyundai is also introducing a unique naming convention for Ioniq in China with future models named after planets, “symbolizing how each vehicle orbits around the customer, the central focus of this new Ioniq universe.”To that end, Ioniq has revealed a pair of pure-electric concept cars to “highlight Hyundai Motor’s readiness for China’s new energy vehicle market.”Previewed before their first public appearance at this month’s Beijing Auto Show (April 24 to May 3), the Venus Concept sedan and Earth Concept family SUV are positioned as “two ‘planets’ in a new ‘universe’ of models.”Finished in ‘Radiant Gold’, the Venus sedan features a ‘one-curve silhouette’, lightweight, frame-structured roof and a transparent spoiler, while the wrap-around cockpit is designed to “evoke Venus’s glowing atmosphere with layered mood lighting.”The Earth SUV has been conceived to “embody the vitality and biological balance of our home planet” blending “sharp edges and sculpted volumes” with details including skid plates and exposed bolt accents. ‘Air-hug’ seats are made of soft air modules and mood lighting is structured to mimic tree shadows.Speaking at the Ioniq brand announcement, Beijing Hyundai Motor Company President Li Fenggang said, “Starting with the two concept cars unveiled today, we will continue to present products that reflect deep insight into Chinese customers and our genuine commitment to this market. “Built on Ioniq’s uncompromising principles of world-class safety and quality, we will soon introduce production models that seamlessly combine the smart driving and smart cabin experiences that Chinese consumers demand,” he said.

Remember when Hyundai and Kia were all about low prices (and immediate delivery)? Today, the closely-related Korean brands are riding higher than ever, with strong demand reflecting their massive strides in quality, technology and design. But their prices are rising in response. Is there a solution? We think so.

It might seem you have to be rich to buy an electric car these days, with even some budget EVs blowing out to more than $50K, but we've found a way to get into an EV for a lot less.

With doubts about the long-term future of i30 hatch, the small SUV may need to step-up and become Hyundai Australia’s new lynchpin model. CarsGuide attended the official reveal and detailing on the new model, so here’s everything you need to know about this all-important new addition to the Hyundai line-up.

At last, it seems a car-maker has realised just how silly it is to have an entirely different brand name for its electric car line-up. Yes, Mercedes-Benz sounds as though it's going to drop its EQ brand name for its EVs, because it’s all going electric, right? So what’s the point? Now we just have to wait for all the other car manufacturers to realise that it was all a big mistake.Yep, last week I wrote a story about how Mercedes-Benz was rumoured to be planning to axe its EQ sub-brand name.Currently, Mercedes-Benz uses EQ to denote an electric vehicle in its line-up. There’s the EQB which is an electric version of the GLB, the EQE which is an electric E-Class, and so on. Well, a Reuters report questioned Mercedes-Benz over the rumours to which the car maker responded with this statement:“With the goal of our parent Mercedes-Benz becoming fully electric by the end of the decade, we will adapt the positioning of the vehicles and thus the use of the brand in line with the times, but it is too early for details on this at the moment.”Sounds very much like the bosses at Benz have realised the whole EQ thing was not a very good idea. An electric E-Class in the future will be an E-Class, as there won’t be a combustion engine version.So what about the rest of the carmakers who have also gone down the same dead-end street?I’m looking at you Hyundai with your Ioniq brand - your Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. Great cars, but why not just use your existing nameplates such as i30 and Tucson and Santa Fe? Are you going to throw those in the bin?And Volkswagen. You’re doing it, too. There’s the ID.3 which is obviously being lined up to replace the Golf. The Golf, which celebrates its 50th anniversary next year. Nice birthday present. You're old, get out. Word is, Volkswagen will keep the Golf name for that petrol car only for as long as it exists and the same goes for Polo, Tiguan, Passat and the rest. You can get sentimental about a 2009 Golf GTI, but will anybody be looking back on their ID.3 the same way? And Kia with your imaginatively named EV6 and EV9. I’m being sarcastic, Kia. Come on, these aren’t phones or computers we're talking about. Sure, Carnival probably isn't the best name and neither is Stonic, nor Seltos or Sportage and what was going on with Pro_ceed GT? But that’s beside the point. When it comes to names give me a Sportage Electric over an EV6 any day.BMW your names have always been extremely methodical and read like a list of ammunition supplies. When you did try to start bringing in actual words you messed it all up with things like Gran Coupe, but at least your electric names aren’t completely ridiculous. Then iX, the i4, the i7 -  they make sense even if the whole ‘i’ thing is as out of date as an iPod.And Audi. Don’t even get me started on e-tron.Why do we have these EV sub brands when the whole car industry is going to go electric anyway? Well, it could be because vehicle development plans can stretch decades ahead. They need to create a name separate to the current line-up as the new electric vehicles will be on entirely different platforms, so they are essentially totally different cars.Car-makers could also be protecting their breadwinning petrol and diesel models too, from the potential failure of electric models by keeping them in separate ‘baskets’ until the EV models start to prove themselves and pay their way.These electric sub-brands could be being used as testing labs until the technology, the charging, the batteries and the cars are good enough to wear the regular nameplates?So what’s going to happen? Are we going to go through a whole series of Final Edition i30s and Farewell Special Golfs, or will car companies see the light like Mercedes-Benz it seems and drop the electric sub-brand name thing altogether?Well, it will come down to money. If the car company feels that losing a loved nameplate is detrimental in how customers view and connect with the brand, and especially if the action significantly affects sales, then you’ll probably see the name stay… or return.Imagine the fanfare (and the sales) around bringing back the Golf nameplate after everybody thought it was long gone.Perhaps that’s been the plan all along…

It has been among the weirder new-car years on record in Australia, with most models hard to come by — with lengthy ordering queues and shipping delays — and their prices seemingly only heading in one direction. And it all looks like it will continue into the new year, too.

Hyundai is readying to unleash a wave of new electrified models in a bid to recover lost ground in the sales race and establish itself as an electric vehicle leader. Fresh off launching 18 new or updated models in an 18 month period, the South Korean brand’s Australian operation has confirmed it will introduce 17 new or face lifted products between now and early 2024.

The Hyundai Ioniq electric car range is going to expand - but crucially, there will be smaller, cheaper EV models from the brand.

Anyone in the market for a new car right now knows how challenging it can be to get into a new model immediately.A high number of variants of most top models are on backorder with customers facing lengthy wait times, in some cases more than a year.However