Hyundai to release next batch of Ioniq 5 electric SUVs in mid July

Hyundai is to offer another small batch of its highly sought-after Ioniq 5 electric SUVs in mid July as it continues its drip-freed approach to sales and deliveries in Australia.

Supplies of the Ioniq 5 have been limited, and so far Hyundai has only made available 518 to the Australian market in a series of online sales that are usually complete within minutes. Sales have also been restricted to major metropolitan centres.

Last weekend, Hyundai quietly released nine “left-over” Ioniq 5s to the Melbourne market that had been the subject of order cancellations. So far, all but 30 of the 518 offered for sale to date have been delivered.

Now it has revealed, through a spokesman, that another batch will be offered for sale on the next sales window on July 13. The number has not yet been finalised, but is likely to be around 130.

The sales strategy of Hyundai contrasts sharply with that of Tesla, which finally opened orders for its long-awaited Model Y electric crossover earlier this month, and managed to obtain around 12,000 reservations in its first weekend, with estimates that total reservations may have grown to 20,000 since then.

Tesla will start deliveries of the first Model Y in August, and the current waiting list extends out to next May.

Hyundai has a similar amount of interest for its Ioniq 5, around 16,000 registrations of interest – not surprising given the number of “world car of the year” awards it has pocketed in the past year, and its features including longer range and vehicle to load.

However, most of those have had to compete in a frenzied online sessions, and may have looked elsewhere. Given the restricted number of competitors, including the Kia EV6, and Volvo XC40, it would be fascinating but probably impossible to know how many of those have instead chosen to order a Model Y.