Nissan, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and a whole slew of other major car companies have begun offering their takes on the fully-electric vehicle (EV). Now, Hyundai looks to add its name to the EV hat.
On Sunday, Hyundai announced it would be starting a new line of EVs in order to further its commitment to human progress. The new brand, called IONIQ, will include three EV models which are set to release over the course of the next four years. The first of the three, the IONIQ 5 CUV, will release in early 2021 before the other two models to come.
IONIQ combines personal mobility with individual empowerment, for people who are ready to take charge now for a better world tomorrow. Have a sneak preview of the line-ups. #HyundaiIONIQ #HyundaiElectric pic.twitter.com/LKe0Yhk5YG
— Hyundai Worldwide (@Hyundai_Global) August 10, 2020
Though Elon Musk has alluded to licensing Tesla software to other competitors in the future, Hyundai plans to use its own software in the newly-announced brand of cars.
The IONIQ brand was originally used for a research and development project at Hyundai, then later as a hybrid vehicle in 2016, and now the Korean car company will reuse the brand name for its EVs in the coming years. By 2025, the company says it hopes to be the third-largest automaker of eco-friendly vehicles in the world. While that might be a tough goal to achieve, having a line of EVs is, at least, the first step in that direction for Hyundai.
While Hyundai may have a long ways to go to keep up with Tesla and other EV giants, it certainly has the auto-background to pull it off.
