The Kia EV6 will be the first to launch in India followed by the Hyundai IONIQ 5 which will come to the country later in the year. Both companies have adopted varied strategies for their products.
The news, many of us have been waiting for, is confirmation on the arrival of the Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5 flagship EV crossovers to India. The Kia EV6 crossover will make its India debut in the first half of May 2022, while its alter-ego, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 will launch in late October of this year. And while the Kia model will begin as a CBU (completely built import), the IONIQ 5 will be launched as a locally assembled car rolling out from Hyundai’s Chennai plant. This means price positioning for the two will be entirely different.
The IONIQ 5 will be launched as a locally assembled car rolling out from Hyundai’s Chennai plant
Sources have revealed to carandbike that this is purely intentional as the strategy at both brands is also very different. So while we can expect the IONIQ 5 at the ₹ 35-40 lakh price point, the EV6 will be positioned above ₹ 50 lakh. Kia is looking at following a similar phased rollout as Mercedes-Benz does in India with some of its flagship models. That is to say – the market launch happens with an all-in, fully loaded, top-spec, import variant. And then the company will subsequently move to CKD (completely knocked down) kits for locally assembling the EV6 (likely only in 2023).
