In France, the spectacular Hyundai Ioniq 6 starts from 52,200 euros. A fairly substantial budget, which generally contrasts with the one announced in the USA. The Korean sedan starts at $41,600, or about 39,200 euros. What can explain such a difference?
The Ioniq 6 is the new 100% electric sedan from the Korean manufacturer Hyundai. Just as spectacular is the one derived from the spectacular Prophecy concept car, with a design that breaks with what we are used to seeing. And, as we discovered in our recent essay, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 is also an excellent electric car.
Yes, but excellence has a price, in this case of 52,200 euros TTC in France for the “basic” version. A price that borders on premium, except that Hyundai does not want to be a high-end manufacturer. Additionally, we also noted that the Ioniq 6 was significantly more affordable in the US. On the other side of the Atlantic, prices start at $41,600 (about €39,200), a difference of about 25%.
And this gap is not filled by the ecological bonus in France since, from the beginning of 2023, the Ioniq 6 is excluded from the bonus that only affects electric models displayed below 47,000 euros. But then, how can we explain such a price difference between the same model?
French customers prefer high-end versions
The difference is quite simple, since Hyundai offers its Ioniq 6 entry in France with a fairly high-end level and a large battery. The manufacturer explains this, like many others, due to the attraction of French customers for the top-of-the-range versions and with better autonomy.
Proof of this is that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 with the “small” 58 kWh battery is no longer available on the French configurator. It did not sell as well as the 77 kWh version. As a result, the base price of an Ioniq 5 is also rising in France, now sitting at €51,300, whereas with the small battery it was under €40,000 (including bonus) for a few more weeks.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 should not be available in France with a small battery. The Korean sedan is only offered with the 77 kWh battery, which gives it autonomy according to the WLTP cycle of between 545 to 614km depending on the selected team.
The basic version “Intuitive” is also very well equipped, with, as standard, the cTwo-zone automatic climate control, the cdigital counters, theactive lane keeping assist, the fautonomous emergency brake with intersection function, thefront and rear parking assistantreversing camera or GPS.
More options in the United States
In the United States, the base Hyundai Ioniq 6 is powered by a single rear electric motor that gives it 229 channels, just like in France. A version with two electric motors, four-wheel drive, for a power of 325 hp is also available.
The basic Ioniq 6 in the US has a “small” battery of 53 kWh, giving you 240 miles of range according to the EPA cycle, or about 386 km, knowing that the EPA cycle is more severe than our WLTP cycle. This gives 429 km in the European WLTP cycle. With its ultra-fast recharging, it could compete with the Tesla Model 3 Propulsion, with around 500 km of autonomy, but a slower recharge.
Nor should we forget that the sales prices shown in the United States do not include VAT, unlike France. Which would raise this entry-level version to around 7,000 euros applying 20% VAT on the sale price in dollars. If it were sold in France, it is certain that it would sell for around 45,000 euros.
However, this version could eventually reach Europe and France, depending on the evolution of Hyundai’s commercial policy and consumer demand.
We were able to test the Hyundai Ioniq 6 and the latter revealed all its qualities on this occasion. Frandroid recommends this electric sedan with ultra-fast charging capacity and great autonomy, to keep up with…
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