When Hyundai unveiled the Ioniq V at the Beijing Auto Show four months ago, the assumption still was that there was no genuine plan to bring the futuristic-looking electric hatchback to Europe. But Hyundai’s CEO talks openly about exporting China-built cars westward, and the V might be good enough to get an international travel passport.
Hyundai has started pre-sales of the Ioniq V in China. The model, which looks like an edgier all-electric Toyota Prius, isn’t just built in China; to regain market share, the company’s local design center also styled it.
Sales price: 15,000 euros
Not just that, the applied style wows. For a 4.9-meter, 800-volt EV with CATL LFP batteries, the price is competitive at 119,900 yuan, or roughly €15,000 (mind that pricing in China is, by rule, much more favorable than in Europe).
Another windfall for Hyundai is that the notoriously fast Chinese development cycle is doing exactly what Hyundai hoped for: the full market launch has been rescheduled to September, when early 2027 was first targeted.
Hyundai’s revised China strategy, which is explicitly called “In China, For China, To Global”, seems to be materializing. And that means the “To Global” part becomes important. Hyundai CEO Jose Munoz said: “We want to really export to other markets from China, but we want to be successful here first.” He explicitly named Britain, Europe, and the Middle East as possible destinations.
Planned for export
Hyundai’s European newsroom carries the Ioniq V release and deliberately avoids calling it China-only. The fine print reads: “Availability and applicability in other markets will be evaluated at a later stage.” News outlet CNEVPost goes further, stating the car is “planned for export to global markets.”
But we shouldn’t hope for the 15,000-euro price tag, nor does the Europeanization case ring true. Beijing Hyundai is not on the EU’s list of cooperating Chinese producers, so it is subject to the highest possible 35.3% punitive tariff, plus the ordinary 10% tariff on Chinese-built BEVs.
That is a 45.3% hit before the car reaches Zeebrugge. The Ioniq V might hit the Port of Southampton or Drammen sooner, as the UK, together with Norway, doesn’t apply supplementary import tariffs.
Too close to Ioniq 6?
Then again, Europe already has a 4.9-meter Hyundai electric fastback. The refreshed Ioniq 6 starts around €46,000 in Belgium, offers 63 kWh and 84 kWh battery options, and reaches 680 km WLTP range. The Ioniq V is 4,900 mm long with a 2,900 mm wheelbase. It occupies the same parking space.
On top of that, the car would need to be reworked for homologation. It’s not only about re-engineering the safety and mechanical details (the German Autobahn remains an eternal challenge). The Ioniq V runs on a Chinese technology stack, which would need a workover to make it GDPR-compliant and in line with cybersecurity rules.
Like BMW, Volkswagen, and Renault, Hyundai is increasingly treating China as the global base for its EV development. But geopolitical constraints seem to be hampering the strategy of shipping full-fledged China-developed cars, rather than just borrowing the architecture.
