Orders open soon in Australia for Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV, but numbers limited

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric crossover, perhaps the most anticipated new EV to arrive in Australia since the Tesla Model 3, will soon be open for orders, but the number of cars available will be just a fraction of the interest shown.

Hyundai sent out an email this weekend to the around 10,000 customers who had registered their interest in the Ioniq 5, advising them that orders will be open on October 12 at a specially convened online “early access event.”

But the number of cars available to Australian customers will be limited – with only around 400 of the Ioniq 5s available until early 2022.

According to Hyundai, about 100 customers who actually paid a deposit – without actually having seen or driven the car, or known its price – will get priority bookings. For the rest, it looks like it is going to be something of a scramble at the October event as it will be a first-come, first served basis.

The Ioniq 5 is the first of Hyundai’s new generation of electric vehicles that have been designed and built on a special electric platform, rather than converting existing petrol and diesel models.

But it has already gained huge attention, partly due to its sleek styling and partly also to its vehicle-to-load (V2L) facility. It includes plugs that allows owners to power tools, camping equipment, or even their home appliances if need be. It is not vehicle to grid (V2G), which requires more complex and more expensive cabling and inverter capabilities.

“It’s unprecedented, we’ve never seen anything like it at Hyundai,” a spokesman told The Driven on Sunday in reference to the numbers of customers who had shown interest in the new EV.

One of the reasons for the small number of cars available for the Australian market is the huge demand in Europe and elsewhere, partly driven by new fuel emission standards which are encouraging car makers to make, sell and deliver more EVs.

Prices for the Ioniq 5, won recently the UK’s 2021 Car of the Year award, have not even been announced yet for Australia, but will likely happen this week.

It is expected to be priced at $A70,000-$A80,000, according to a number of customers who have placed pre-orders with Hyundai, who have also said they have been told the Ioniq 5 will be available in two variants.

The customers said they had been told the two variants will include a long-range dual motor, and a long-range rear single motor Ioniq 5. According to Hyundai UK, the long-range Ioniq 5 with 73kWh battery pack offers a range of up to 482km (WLTP) with rear-wheel drive, or 461km with all-wheel drive.

See our video review of the Ioniq 5: Video: New Ioniq’s electric power play

And Hyundai Ioniq 5 pricing and specs emerge ahead of October launch