Hyundai is on a roll. Global sales are up 4 percent, despite ongoing pandemic and supply chain issues, and sales outside of its native South Korea are up an impressive 7 percent. Then there is the small matter of awards.
Of the top three 2022 World Car of the Year finalists, an accolade conferred by a jury of 102 automotive journalists from 33 countries, not one but two were from the Hyundai Motor Group: Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6. Kia is minority-owned by Hyundai, and its EV6 is based on the same platform as the Ioniq 5. The other finalist was the Ford Mustang Mach-E—making all of the final three EVs.
Hyundai also nabbed World Car Design of the Year and World Electric Car, beating the Audi E-Tron GT and Mercedes-Benz EQS. And along with many other country-specific trophies, the Ioniq 5 was crowned 2022 German Car of the Year—no doubt putting a few noses at BMW, Audi, and Mercedes even further out of joint.
Following the design and performance success of the Ioniq 5 and Kia’s EV6, the automotive world has been eagerly watching to see what will follow. That wait is now over. Hyundai plans to introduce 17 EV models over the next eight years, starting with the Ioniq 6.
With its aerodynamically efficient profile, which affords the Ioniq 6 a drag coefficient of 0.21 (just a smidge behind the 0.20 claimed by EQS, currently the world’s most aerodynamic car), the new Hyundai has more than a whiff of Porsche 911 about it, albeit with four doors. SangYup Lee, executive vice president and head of the Hyundai Global Design Center, refers to the sweeping silhouette as “streamliner typology.”
Sitting between 2021’s Ioniq 5 and the forthcoming Ioniq 7 electric SUV, the Ioniq 6 appears aimed at people looking for more performance than the family-orientated Ioniq 5 affords. As well as an ultra-low drag coefficient, which should help with the EV’s as-yet-unstated range, Hyundai’s electrified streamliner has additional aero features, including active air flaps at the front, wheel gap reducers, and optional digital side mirrors that are slimmer than traditional designs.