Hyundai Working On Small Electric Car For Indian Market - Report

The report by international news agency Reuters states that Hyundai has started developing a new small electric car for India for the future. The report claims that the carmaker will continue to focus on bringing more premium models to the country starting this year, an obvious nod the upcoming launch of the Ioniq 5.

Tarun Garg, Director - Sales, Marketing and Service for Hyundai India told the publication that various departments of the company are working on issues like the charging ecosystem, sales network, manufacturing and the kind of assembly process the carmaker should follow for its electric car lineup in India.

To ensure that the cost are kept down for the new small electric car, Garg stated that Hyundai would be looking into heavy localisation. This means that Hyundai will look into sourcing and producing most components in a bid to control costs which in turn should keep the price of new vehicles affordable for the customer.

The new small electric car is part of Hyundai's plans to invest Rs 40 billion ($512 million) to launch six electric vehicles in India by the year 2028. Hyundai currently has one electric car in the Indian market in the form of the Kona electric SUV. The South Korean carmaker is readying the World Car Of The Year 2022 - the Ioniq 5 EV - in the near future.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is based on the Hyundai motor Group's E-GMP platform that supports 800V charging infrastructure. This is the same platform that underpins the recently launched Kia EV6 which can charge at speeds as high as 350kW. The new Hyundai Ioniq 5 also shares its battery packs with the EV6. While the Indian version of the Kia has not bought in the 58kWh battery pack to India, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is expected to feature this smaller battery setup instead of the larger 78.4kWh pack that has arrived with the EV6.

Like the EV6, the Ioniq 5 is offered in both RWD (single motor) and AWD (dual motor) guises. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 offers a max output of 168bhp and 350Nm in single motor guise while the top-spec dual motor setup hikes this to 232bhp and 608Nm of peak torque. The all-wheel drive version of the Ioniq 5 with the 58kWh battery pack offers a maximum range of 319 kilometres while the rear-wheel drive version has a maximum range figure of 384km as per WLTP testing.

Despite looking like a retro hot hatchback, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is quite a massive car with the crossover featuring a 3,000mm long wheelbase. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is 4,635mm long, 1,890mm wide and 1,605mm tall.

Thanks to the smaller battery pack along with Hyundai's plans to locally assemble the Ioniq 5 in India, prices for the electric crossover are expected to start under the Rs 50 lakh (ex-showroom) mark when it arrives later this year.

Thoughts On Hyundai's Plans For A Smaller Electric Car For India

Hyundai's plans for a smaller electric car shows just how serious the carmaker is getting with EV for India. If the carmaker manages to get the infrastructure ready in time for the arrival of the small electric car and also ensures that the price tag is competitive, Hyundai could jump ahead of rivals like Maruti Suzuki who are still grappling with their electric futures.