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It doesn’t seem all that long ago that you could get a $7,500 federal tax incentive on buying or leasing a new EV. That’s because it wasn’t. But now that it’s gone, Hyundai seemingly wants to be aggressive about selling EVs.
Yesterday, it announced pricing on the 2026 Ioniq 5, and the price was significantly discounted (up to almost $10,000) on all the variants.
Hyundai’s CEO has said he doesn’t want to sell cars that don’t make money, but it’s hard to see how such a big discount still makes them profitable. But Hyundai Motor Group is one of the most vertically integrated car makers on the planet, and it appears to be leveraging that to bring on the discounts.
Or it’s trying to buy market share, taking advantage of the industry while it’s down. But either way.
For some perspective, an 800-volt, well-packaged, and roomy EV starts at $36,600 with delivery. Now, the standard range Ioniq 5 is only EPA-rated for 245 miles, which is a little less than the longer range, but smaller, Kona EV. But Hyundai’s media site says that the longer-range battery is going away for 2026, which makes sense.
It’s also less than the SV+ Leaf that’s comparable in price, and the Equinox EV that’s also comparable in price, but the Ioniq 5 should DC fast charge quicker. I prefer quicker charging to overall raw range when we’re talking several hours between charging on a road trip.
The Leaf has the best infotainment of the three, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay combined with a solid Android Automotive-based infotainment on that SV+, but the space alone is a compelling enough reason to cross-shop.
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This is a smart move and obviously a move to buy market share. I can’t speak to whether the new pricing is still profitable for the Korean auto maker, but as I just said yesterday, I think the Koreans (with their vertical integration) are one of the best suited to ride out our recession. And they have the power to set pricing at nearly whatever they want.
Once we’re firmly out of incentive days — meaning there’s no more ‘one neat trick’ on leasing that GM and Ford are cleverly doing — we’re going to see who is serious about moving EVs in the United States, but also see who is the most financially stable to do so.
Additionally, I believe this is an indication that Hyundai is willing to be aggressive on all of its products. Yes, right now it’s an EV fight. But it’s also clear that the company has the flexibility to adjust pricing across the board. If this recession is as bad as it looks, aggressively priced Korean options could cause a major shift in the automotive landscape.
This is the canary if you’re another automaker. This is saying “we’ll do what we have to do, and we can afford to do it.” The Colbert Report used to have an “On Notice” board, and it’d be unwise to ignore the fact that the rest of the automotive industry was placed on it yesterday.