[Newsmaker] Hyundai drives green car push with Ioniq

Hyundai Motor jumped into the heated global green car race by unveiling its ‘‘Ioniq” hybrid electric vehicle at a media preview event on Thursday.

The event, held at its Namyang R&D center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, came soon after it released a rendering of the model and started preorders early this week. The automaker said it plans to roll out Ioniq hybrid in the domestic market on Jan. 14.

Hyundai Motor has developed a new platform for green cars to realize its future mobility vision. Previously, it had released eco-friendly cars based on the platform of existing car models like Sonata, Grandeur and Tucson.

“The company will step up its green car push with its new green car model Ioniq to become the first mover in the segment,” said Jung Rak, a vice president at Hyundai Motor who leads the Ioniq project.

According to Hyundai’s green car vision, revealed in November 2014, the nation’s top automaker aims to become the second-biggest player in the global eco-friendly car market by 2020. 

Ioniq hybrid is one of the key milestones in the automaker’s green car roadmap. It will expand the Ioniq lineup to three within this year, by adding Ioniq EV and Ioniq plug-in hybrid EV, or PHEV.

At the media preview of Ioniq hybrid, Hyundai officials expressed confidence over its prowess in terms of fuel efficiency and driving performance, in comparison with Toyota’s Prius, the long-time iconic and dominant hybrid vehicle in the market.

The Ioniq hybrid is loaded with the latest 1.6 GDi engine with up to 105 horsepower. Equipped with a six-speed DCT transmission exclusively developed for hybrid vehicles, the carmaker claims it has achieved a fuel efficiency of 22.4 km per liter, the “highest level” among same-class cars.

The Ioniq hybrid boasts an aerodynamic exterior, while keeping the signature hexagonal grille at the front to maintain Hyundai’s family look.

Including tax benefits, the price of the compact hybrid will range from 22.9 million won ($19,000) to 27.8 million won depending on options, the company said.

For overseas markets, Hyundai Motor will make an international debut of Ioniq hybrid at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in March with plans to launch it in the U.S. in October.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)