All-out war to dominate the European market
20,000 Euro Ioniq 3 makes its debut.
As Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers rapidly encroach upon major markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia by leveraging their price competitiveness, Hyundai Motor Group is responding by putting region-specific entry-level new models, including its IONIQ 3, at the forefront of its counter attack.
The biggest battleground is Europe, where the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is accelerating. In the European Union (EU), over 1.22 million new all-electric vehicles were registered in the first half of this year, marking a 40.5% surge in just one year and accounting for 20.7% of the total passenger car market.
Hyundai Motor Group is launching a counterattack by filling the void in the B-segment, which has long been considered a weakness. The B-segment refers to small cars, one level smaller than the compact mid-size. This is a key segment, accounting for about 15% of total demand in the European new car market.
The Ioniq 3, scheduled to launch in September, will set the starting line. With a launch price in the low 20,000 Euro range, it has significantly narrowed the price gap with entry-level Chinese EVs. Designed in Europe and manufactured at the Izmit plant in Turkiye, it reduces logistics and production costs while meeting EU’s domestic production requirements, thereby lowering tariff burdens.
Last March, Kia launched the EV2, a B-segment EV positioned one class lower than the EV3 that had previously driven its European sales, exclusively for Europe. Unlike the EV3, which was entirely produced domestically and exported, the EV2 is being manufactured locally at the Zilina plant in Slovakia. In Southeast Asia, Hyundai Motor is introducing the ‘Neira,’ a three-row electric multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), in Southeast Asia. The Neira is a strategic model featuring a 7-seat family-seater layout that meets high local demand. It shares the platform with the Kia Carens EV, improving development and production efficiency. The plan is to secure price competitiveness by producing locally in Indonesia and selling at a price in the KRW 20 million range.
In China, the largest EV market, Hyundai will unveil the Ioniq V, the brand’s first China-exclusive model, in September. The Ioniq V sought full localization by applying the technology of Momenta, a local autonomous driving company, and CATL batteries.
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