Hyundai working on affordable electric small car for under 20,000 euros

Hyundai is reportedly planning to launch two electric compact cars in Europe as early as 2023, including a possible i10 successor that could go under the name Ioniq 2. The affordable e-cars are to be offered for under 20,000 euros.

Hyundai electric small car: i10 successor for under 20,000 euros

The wheels at Korean automaker Hyundai do not stand still. Only in July they presented the all-electric Ioniq 6, as well as the two concept cars RN22e and N Vision 74. Now, they have confirmed at least the existence of two electric small cars that are expected to be launched in Europe as early as the end of 2023.

One of them is apparently the successor to the Hyundai i10, which has not received an update in its third generation since 2020. That the e-small cars will launch at the end of 2023 has at least now been confirmed by Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, head of marketing at Hyundai Motor Europe, to Automotive News Europe. However, the new models are not yet ready for production.

The i10 successor could reach the market under the type designation Hyundai Ioniq 2 and is to be designed as a city car, which will be produced as early as mid-2023. However, the name is not yet official.

No details are available on the second electric compact car in the lineup. Whether the scalable Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture can be used for the compact dimensions was also not revealed.

However, the price is expected to settle below the 20,000 euro mark: “Everyone in the industry knows that the target for this class of vehicle is 20,000 euros,” Hofmann told Automotive News Europe.

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181 hp under the hood?

What is known, however, is apparently that both Hyundai e-cars will rely on the iDM146 from BorgWarner. Indeed, the latter had, for the first time in July 2021 and most recently in August 2022, spoken for the first time of a second electric car from Hyundai within the compact class (A-segment, the so-called city cars).

The second model, at least according to BorgWarner, is “expected to start production in the third quarter of 2024”. There is also talk of a maximum output of 181 hp or 135 kW, but no further details are available.

However, it is at least a fact that Hyundai needs a compact electric car in order not to fall behind on the European market. After all, Volkswagen is also preparing a model in this class with the ID.1 starting next year, which will also start for less than 20,000 euros, while the other VW brands are planning something similar.