Korean brand is preparing to debut a new electric car. The model may enter the market as early as next year, it is possible that it will replace the liftback Ioniq.
In March 2020, Hyundai introduced the concept electric Prophecy. The model was supposed to be shown at the Geneva Motor Show, but due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the exhibition was canceled, so we had to limit ourselves to an online presentation. Choosing a name for their new product, the company apparently already knew that it would not stay in prototype status (the name of the show car is translated as “prophecy” from English). And now official confirmation has been received: Prophecy will transform into a production model, Lee Sang Jupe, senior vice president and head of Hyundai’s international design center, told the British edition of Auto Express.
According to the top manager, the product version of Prophecy will debut after another brand new product appears on the conveyor – an electric cross-hatch with a design based on last year’s Hyundai 45 concept. It is expected that the production version of the “forty-fifth” will be presented before the end of 2020 ( test prototypes have already come across photospies), that is, the commodity Prophecy we can see in 2021.
Both models are based on the new E-GMP (Electric Global Modular Platform), which Hyundai-Kia has developed specifically for its future electric trains. But the Koreans haven’t yet talked about technology – the characteristics of even concepts have not yet been disclosed, let alone serial cars.
The appearance of the Hyundai 45 was “inspired” by the 1970s, and when creating the Prophecy, as noted in the company, the designers were inspired by the era of the 1930s. However, for most, the second electric car is still firmly associated with the Porsche 911 in terms of design. But we are only talking about the appearance, while the interior of the Hyundai Prophecy has its own. True, it is unlikely that the main version of the concept will be retained for the conveyor version – joysticks instead of the steering wheel (located on the driver’s door and on the central armrest). But Lee Sang Jupe promised that the electric car will have the same spacious interior as the Prophecy, since the “trolley” allows. By the way, the top manager calls the upcoming new sedan, but “not of a traditional type.”
Auto Express believes that a model with a Prophecy design in the Hyundai range will replace the Hyundai Ioniq electric liftback. Recall, the “five-door” is released from 2016, last year the model was updated. The current Ioniq Electric is equipped with a 136-horsepower electric motor and a battery with a capacity of 38.3 kWh, the declared range is 294 km (according to the WLTP cycle). Meanwhile, the liftback also happens in the form of an ordinary hybrid and Plug-In (with the possibility of charging from the mains). The interior of the new Hyundai Tucson: a strange TV and buttons instead of a lever box
Failure Ioniq can not be called. For example, only in Western Europe about 31,000 cars were sold last year (the lion’s share fell on the standard hybrid, the electric car was in second place), while 21,600 customers stopped the choice on Toyota Prius family models (and this is all of Europe, and not only Western). It is possible that Prophecy will really supplant Ioniq Electric, and the hybrids will be left. Another option is also possible – Prophecy will be positioned as the second generation Ioniq, that is, it may also have hybrid versions (if, of course, the platform allows it).