The Hyundai IONIQ 6 EV will be launching in Malaysia soon and here’s the price we’ve heard.
Sime Darby Auto Hyundai has been teasing the upcoming IONIQ 6 for the last few weeks to no end, indicating that a launch is coming up soon. The big question on our mind is just how the pricing strategy would be for this vehicle. We’re sure many potential customers too are quite excited to see if we get another IONIQ product priced below RM200,000.
Well, Daniel has been talking to a few people in the know and from what can be gathered, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 will not be priced anywhere near the IONIQ 5. This is despite the fact that both electric vehicles share the same E-GMP bones.
The rumours we’ve heard indicate that Hyundai plan to introduce at least two variants of the IONIQ 6 into our market including both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive models. The standard grade would likely be a rear-wheel drive model at around RM320,000 while the all-wheel drive model is likely to be priced around RM350,000. Now that’s a pretty huge jump up from the IONIQ 5’s price bracket of RM199,888 to RM259,888.
Why The Big Gap Between IONIQ Models?
As mentioned before, both the IONIQ 5 and 6 use the E-GMP as their backbone. But the similarities don’t end there. They both use similar electric motors and battery packs. Of course there are differences here and there but outputs and capacities look very identical between two products.
So how can Hyundai justify such a noticeable price leap between the two products? Well, it comes down to a number of factors. The first is of course positioning. The IONIQ 5 is a bit more of a general purpose vehicle. It has enough space to work for a small family and it has the proportions of a large hatchback or small crossover. The IONIQ 6 on the other hand is shaped like a four-door coupé, which will be less appealing to families. Styling is taken to the next level on the IONIQ 6 and the narrower niche means ultimately we’ll see fewer IONIQ 6 units on the road versus the IONIQ 5.
There are also objective reasons why the IONIQ 6 is priced higher is because Hyundai have indeed improved upon the metrics and technology with this model. They’re using improved hardware and a body with extremely low drag to help extract a lot more range out of the same battery capacity. 614km is quite an achievement, and is doubly impressive when compared against the IONIQ 5’s current max of 430km in our Malaysian spec models.
The final reason I can see for the price hike is as a response to market pressures. It’s no secret that cost of production for cars has increased across the board in the last few years. When the IONIQ 5 was launched in Malaysia, this may not have been factored in. Now though, it’s going to be impossible to ignore, especially when it’s fully imported with the current exchange rates.
The other side of the pressure comes in the form of demand. In Malaysia, the IONIQ 5 was priced very well, and so the waiting list has become quite long. There’s no doubt that the lesson here is that the next IONIQ product needs to be more expensive to lower demand and improve profitability per unit. Hyundai also has no problems selling these IONIQ models globally, so there’s little reason to sell them at a lower price in Malaysia.
What do you think of the IONIQ 6’s potential pricing in Malaysia? Worth it or are they treading a bit too close to the premium marques with this price?
