The new Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car has been spotted testing in the wild – in Bathurst, the home of one of Australia’s iconic racetracks – raising hopes that Australia will be one of the first countries to enjoy the release of the South Korean car maker’s new EV series.
The camouflaged vehicle was spotted charging at the NRMA fast charger in Bathurst, and a spokesperson for Hyundai Australia has confirmed it is here for “evaluation and endurance testing”.
When asked if the vehicle’s presence at Bathurst is an indication Australia will be at the forefront of a global launch, Hyundai’s spokesperson declined to comment.
However, it is understood that the Ioniq 5 is slated for Australia, and a local launch will be in 2021.
In December, specs of the new vehicle were leaked on Hyundai’s Austrian website that revealed the Ioniq 5 will offer an ultra-fast 232kW charge rate and bidirectional charging capability, acceleration from 0-100 km/hr within 5.2 seconds and 450km of driving range.
Hyundai currently has two all-electric vehicles available in Australia – the $59,990 Kona Electric compact crossover which offers around 480km driving range and the $48,490 Ioniq electric fastback which offers 311km driving range. (All prices before on-road costs).
The new Ioniq 5 will sit in the middle of the two in terms of driving range, although whether this means its pricing will also sit in the $50,000-60,000 mark in Australia is yet to be seen. The presence of bidirectional charging capabilities as well as high performance and fast charging would suggest this may not be the case.
The Ioniq 5 will be the first Hyundai electric vehicle to be built using the car maker’s E-GMP platform, which was revealed in early December and which the car maker hopes will place it favourably in the increasingly competitive global EV market.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.