Re: Rumour: Hyundai mulling Ioniq plug-in hybrid for India! I said it in August last year. Hell, I was the only one in my office not getting a positive feeling about the Ioniq even after the official confirmation. So, I said it in April again.
Here I'll say it one last time. Ioniq is not happening at least in the first half of 2018 and possibly, throughout the 2018 year.
I'm placing my money on a showcase of the Ioniq family at 2018 Expo to gauge customer interest. The Electric may make it here early in 2019 as the battery costs would have gone down substantially by then. The subsidies for EVs would still be in place as EVs would still be struggling. Thus, making it economically viable. By now, Hyundai has some experience in marketing luxury cars (Genesis) and that will come in handy as Ioniq will be pitted against the luxury offerings.
What will also help Ioniq in 2019 is education.
Hyundai is terrible at educating customers about new tech. They'll write poems about keyless entry, push-button start, auto dimming mirrors but can't (or perhaps don't want to) educate us on the importance of ABS and airbags. Because, then they'll have to make it standard in all variants.
By 2019, luxury brands will have started sending out press releases for their upcoming electric cars. The Merc EQC is coming in 19 and a new BMW i is also in the pipeline. Audi has 3 e-trons planned for international launch between 2018 and 2020. This will prime us for a bunch of electric car launches scheduled for India in 2020. Hyundai can survive on these crumbs and make a quick buck out of the Ioniq before the big players enter the field.
Last edited by MaheshY1 : 8th August 2017 at 07:20.
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