MIAS 2019: Hyundai PH introduces Ioniq Electric at Php 1,868,000

MANILA: Hyundai PH once again utilizes the MIAS Wired as a platform to launch its latest product. We said 'once again' because it was at the last year’s show when the South Korean car maker launched the Ioniq Hybrid, and this year it has introduced the fully electric version of the same car, the Ioniq Electric, at a price of Php 1,868,000.

The Ioniq Electric is a fully electric car that extracts its power from an electric motor which is capable to produce 120 PS and 295 Nm. Hyundai has installed 28 kWh Li-ion batteries which are expected to provide a max range of 200 km on a single charge (as per US EPA ratings). You can charge the batteries by plugging in the charger into the charging points located at both the front and rear fenders of the car.

There are a few noticeable changes that differentiate the Ioniq Electric with its hybrid model. First, there is no front grille. Since there is no engine under the hood, there isn’t a point to provide a grille and intake at the front. The engine bay could be used as an extra boot. Second, the rear bumper has got a lot of silver cladding which, to be honest, doesn’t gel that well with the white color of the car and black embellishment at the boot lid. Third, Hyundai has also added a set of new wheels.

Hyundai decided to keep the interior of the Ioniq Electric mostly the same as that of the Ioniq Hybrid. However, the conventional gear lever has been replaced by push-button gear selectors.

Along with the Ioniq Electric, Hyundai PH also introduced the Kona Electric at the MIAS. It’s good that Hyundai is taking electric cars and future seriously by taking such bold steps. However, we aren’t sure as to how our country’s infrastructure would handle electric cars as of now. Surely, we need to have numerous charging points at specific intervals if we want such vehicles to survive in the country.