The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has been a sellout success – albeit with slim stock to begin with – but the brand is looking to up its allocation in the new year and may hold off any major changes to the variant line-up for up to 12 months.
Speaking with CarExpert, Hyundai Australia’s product development manager, Tim Rodgers, said given the high demand and limited stock, the previously-promised increased variant offerings may be put on the back burner while the local division tries to sort out better supply from the Korean factory.
“Right now, every single one we’re getting is being sold,” Mr Rodgers said, “so really, for the first-adopter market we’re thinking of sticking to that high-trim model for now”.
“But in the year to come, I think our volume opportunity will actually expand and we’re getting ‘ok’ volume with that car. So we might be able to play with that towards the end of the year – let’s see though, it might come sooner.”
“There’s a few little changes that have been talked about already spec-wise, so I think you’ll see something happen next year. At first it’s going to be minor for sure,” Mr Rodgers added.
Hyundai Australia first forecast an initial allocation of 400 units by the end of 2021, however the actual number came to around 240 vehicles – which were all snapped up via the online sales platform within hours of order books opening.
The next round of vehicles is expected in “early 2022”, though the company wouldn’t accept further orders pending better visibility of vehicle supply to ensure customers were given “reasonable delivery timeframes”.
“Customers who missed out will receive regular updates about the supply situation and timing for release of the next batch,” Hyundai said following the exhaustion of stock for the rest of the year.
In terms of the spec changes, it’s understood Hyundai Australia is working on bringing some features not currently available on Australian-spec models, which include the digital side mirrors (similar to what’s available on the Audi e-tron) as well as a solar roof panel in place of the panoramic glass roof which can trickle charge the battery when the vehicle is parked.
Additionally, the company is working on expanding the local offering to include the shorter-range 58kWh battery option available overseas which offers 384km of range (WLTP) compared to the 451km claim of the 2WD version with the long-range 72.6kWh battery.
Given the company quoted 10,000 expressions of interest for that initial allocation of 400 units, we’d imagine whatever Hyundai can bring Down Under will quickly be snapped up.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for all the latest.
MORE: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 review
MORE: Everything Hyundai Ioniq 5
