Used Ioniq 5 EV prices skyrocket, as new car buyers lean toward speed

Few electric vehicles released over the past 12 months have turned as many heads as the new Hyundai Ioniq 5, or its sister EV, the Kia EV6. There is plenty of appetite for both in Australia, but limited supply, and buyers are having to wait for months, or years, to get behind a new model.

How have the Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 been received so far and can real ownership data tell us why some owners prefer one over the other?

The price of an EV is the number one factor stopping Australians from making the switch. Recently I wrote about the lack of affordable EVs available in Australia until we see more new models enter the market in later 2022.

Niether the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6 can be considered affordable as most would understand that expression and many of their variants have not qualified for the available state and territory subsidies.

Having said that, this has not stopped buyers from paying a premium for these great cars. Most of the variants are priced $70,000 driveaway but the used car prices are even higher.

New data from carloop shows the average price being paid for a used Hyundai Ioniq 5 in May 2022 has risen again to $97,473 driveaway. This means that owners that are not willing to wait are paying nearly 20% above the price of a new one.

At the time of writing in early June, there are 3 Hyundai Ioniq 5 EVs and no Kia EV6s up for sale on carsales. That shows the demand from buyers across Australia for these “Family SUV” EVs far exceeds what Hyundai or Kia can get into the country.

We predict that these prices will peak soon as the economy shifts into slightly lower gears over the coming months.

Australian buyers prefer AWD EVs

Analysing the ownership trends of the two models, both models showed buyers preferred AWD versions over the RWD. Over 52.9% of Hyundai Ioniq 5 Australian owners preferred the AWD cars over the more affordable RWD version. It was very similar numbers for the Kia EV6 owners.

The data covered over 134 of these EVs bought in the first three months of 2022. This is unlike the trends we’ve noticed with Tesla Model 3 owners in 2022 who are choosing the RWD model in masses and shying away from the AWD models.

For context, some details on the various EV6 and Ioniq 5 variants. All Hyundai Ioniq 5s come with a 72.6kWh battery pack while the Kia EV6 models boast a larger 77.4kWh battery. The range on the EV6 with a larger battery is claimed to be over 500kms in the RWD Air model while the Ioniq5 RWD sits around 450kms.

When it comes to acceleration, the AWD models of both cars are about two seconds quicker than their RWD counterparts. Both EVs AWD models do the 0-100 sprint in just over 5 seconds. Compare that to the Tesla Model 3 AWD LR model which does it in under 4.5 seconds (before the Acceleration boost upgrade).

Another quick note worth mentioning here is that the Hyundai Ioniq 5s are allocated in small releases by Hyundai Australia so some buyers may not have had the ability to choose between RWD or AWD models at the time of that release.

Change is on the horizon for EV supply

As seen in recent times, the demand for EVs in Australia is really starting to reach a turning point towards an exponential rise. Many EV owners are happy to pay a premium to secure a new model and are paying a lot more for a used one.

This will change over the coming months with the supply of new EV models into the market. Prices may stabilise for models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its brother, the Kia EV6, although this may be dependent on if Kia and Hyundai can secure more inventory of their popular EVs.

Additionally, the recent raising of the luxury car tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles may also increase demand for these vehicles, further exacerbating supply issues.

The more models that Australians can get their hands on, the better it will be for affordability and the EV uptake in the country. That’s something that many of us are looking forward to over the next 6 months.