The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq electric just might be the Tesla Model 3 killer that Tesla never saw coming.
It’s been on sale for over a year now, quietly driving around our streets. And while Hyundai might only have literally only sold a handful of Ioniq Electrics, that doesn’t mean Hyundai doesn’t have plans for its only small EV competitor. As per Inside EV’s on their exclusive report on this possible Tesla Model 3 killer they dropped earlier this week (Oct. 17, 2018) they got confirmation from Hyundai that, by 2020, the Ioniq electric will definitely get more range. During a test drive of the 258 mile range Kona Range arranged by Hyundai earlier in the week Hyundai Senior Group manager Gil Castillo dropped this quote on them,
“The Ioniq’s range will improve at the model-year change. It will get bigger.”
Castillo further explained that the Ioniq electric’s range won’t surpass its bigger brother, the Kona EV’s range of the aforementioned 258 miles.
Of course, none of this is new news as Hyundai said on the record when they first unveiled the Ioniq Electric at the L.A. Auto Show in 2016 that they’re aiming for more than 200 miles which would put it in direct competition with the Bolt EV and Tesla Model 3, both having superior ranges at 238 and 315 miles respectively, the Tesla equipped with the long-range battery, of course.
Hyundai’s strength has always been its price and value that it gives to the customer so I more than expect Hyundai to keep the same price, which hovers around $30,000 before incentives. This will undercut the Tesla Model 3 which has promised a $35,000 base model since it was first announced yet hasn’t delivered on.
Some car outlets also reporting on this bigger battery Ioniq electric estimate that the Ioniq electric will crest 200 miles and not much more which I beg to differ. Those theories use a fixed curve for battery range technology whereas we know that battery tech is changing by the day.
Two years till the next model change is an eternity for battery tech. I fully expect this 2020 Hyundai Electric to hit 215 miles of range or more when it finally announced.
