What Ioniq Meaning for Hyundai. Over the last decade, Hyundai’s electric car division has expanded to include a varied and technologically advanced lineup of automobiles. Perhaps most intriguing is that each of its battery-powered solutions is geared at users outside of the premium class, allowing them to experience electrified driving at a reasonable cost.
At the heart of this initiative is the Ioniq moniker, a Hyundai sub-brand that houses the company’s most advanced electric vehicles (EVs). Ioniq made its debut for the 2017 model year and has since expanded into a full family of EVs that point to the automaker’s future.
The Early Origins of IONIQ
The original Hyundai Ioniq was a compact hatchback available as a standard hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric vehicle. Although Hyundai had marketed an EV named the BlueOn in Korea several years prior, and its corporate partner Kia had introduced an all-electric version of the Soul crossover in 2015, the Ioniq was Hyundai’s first production EV offered in North America. It was followed by the Hyundai Kona EV, which helped the automaker achieve entry-level success that few other mainstream manufacturers could match at the time.
Expanding IONIQ’s Technology
Hyundai intended to use the Ioniq name for more than just one model. The original Ioniq was part of an initiative known as Project Ioniq. It focused on what the future of driving would look like, and the success of the original vehicle persuaded Hyundai that the Ioniq logo could be expanded over a wider range of products. To establish the sub-brand’s name, the business merged the words “ion” and “unique”.
Hyundai moved quickly to bring the Ioniq from concept to showroom. It started with the EV Concept 45 in 2019, a car that foreshadowed much of the appearance and design of the production Ioniq 5 electric crossover, which debuted in stores for the 2022 model year. This was followed by the Prophecy concept in 2020, which foreshadowed the appearance of the Hyundai Ioniq 6.
WHERE IONIQ IS TODAY
The Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 both employ a new platform created by Hyundai that will be used with Kia and Genesis to build their next generation of electric vehicles.
The Ioniq models are based on Hyundai’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). In ideal conditions, the architecture allows for charging at up to 235 kW, with a battery charge of up to 80% achieved in less than 20 minutes. The E-GMP platform currently supports three battery sizes: 58, 72.6, and 77.4 kWh.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 took the lead with slightly over 300 miles of driving range, up to 320 horsepower, and the option of all-wheel drive. The Ioniq 6 sedan increases the range to 320 miles while maintaining similar performance and choices as its platform-mate. Each of these automobiles has a starting price of between $40,000 and $45,000.
The Future of Ioniq
Hyundai hasn’t finished extending its Ioniq brand. In 2021, it unveiled the Seven concept, a three-row SUV that also used the E-GMP platform. This car will eventually be released as the Ioniq 7, offering Hyundai crossover, sedan, and three-row SUV variants of the Ioniq technology to meet the needs of a variety of potential customers.
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Hyundai will also enter the world of high-performance electric vehicles by merging the track-tuned attributes of its N performance division with the E-GMP platform. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N will be the first vehicle to emerge from this collaboration, an all-wheel-drive variant with roughly 600 horsepower from a pair of electric motors. It will also include the aerodynamic modifications to its bodywork and handling refinements to its suspension system that have become synonymous with the N package.
The existence of a whole array of battery-powered vehicles, as well as the performance push to demonstrate that EVs can be about more than just range and carbon-neutral driving, demonstrates Hyundai’s commitment to its Ioniq effort. Compared to Toyota, which only has one EV in its range, and Honda, which recently introduced its first completely electric vehicle for 2024, Hyundai is leading the electrified charge, barely ahead of domestic brands Ford and General Motors, both of which offer many battery-powered options.
Kia’s other E-GMP-platform products, the EV6 crossover and the planned three-row EV 9 SUV, as well as Genesis’ GV60 crossover and GV70 EV SUV, contribute to the company’s leading position.
