Hyundai will launch three new electric cars, starting in 2021

• Hyundai is spinning out Ioniq as a brand for electric cars, in the same way that it spun out Genesis as a standalone brand for luxury cars. It will launch three new battery electrics between 2021 and 2024. [credit: Hyundai ]

Hyundai is going to market a range of new battery-electric cars under Ioniq branding. The Korean automaker first introduced the Ioniq name in 2016 with a subcompact that comes in hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and BEV flavors, but early in 2021 those cars will be joined by the Ioniq 5, a midsize BEV crossover based on a 2019 concept called 45. In 2022, Ioniq will launch the Ioniq 6, an electric sedan based on the stunning Prophecy concept car from earlier this year. Finally, in early 2024, there will be a larger SUV called the Ioniq 7. It's not the first time we've seen this strategy from the automaker, which did the same thing with the creation of Genesis as a standalone luxury brand.

"The Ioniq brand will change the paradigm of EV customer experience. With a new emphasis on connected living, we will offer electrified experiences integral to an eco-friendly lifestyle,” said Wonhong Cho, executive vice president and global chief marketing officer at Hyundai Motor Company.

Ioniq's first three BEVs will be built on a new platform that Hyundai is developing, called the Electric Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP, which it says is highly flexible with regard to body style and interior design. We can probably expect these cars to be built in serious volume; Hyundai Motor Group (which also includes Kia and Genesis) is aiming to sell 1 million BEVs a year by 2025. By that same year it also plans to sell more than half a million hydrogen fuel cell EVs.