Turkije is hard op weg om een groeiende speler te worden op de snelgroeiende Europese markt voor elektrische voertuigen. Naar verluidt heeft Hyundai ook gekozen voor dit land om vanaf 2026 de Ioniq 3 te gaan assembleren, in een poging om het model betaalbaarder te maken dankzij de lagere lonen en een gunstige handelsovereenkomst tussen Turkije en de EU.
The decision was revealed not through a corporate press release but in remarks from Hyundai Türkiye’s general manager, Murat Berkel, at the IAA Mobility show in Munich. Berkel confirmed that production will take place at the company’s İzmit factory and that the UK, Germany, and France are intended as the main export markets.
First foreign-made EV
“This will be the first electric vehicle Hyundai produces in Europe, and the first foreign-made EV to roll out of Türkiye,” he said. Currently, Hyundai assembles the i10, i20, and Bayon at the Izmit plant. The other Ioniq models are primarily built in South Korea, the US, or Singapore.
The Ioniq 3, too, will be built on Hyundai’s Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), which underpins the range of models from compact hatchbacks to larger saloons, which are built in the above countries. Retooling the halls of Izmit means the lower wages at the plant can offset the investment.
Hyundai’s İzmit plant has a capacity of 245,000 vehicles a year. It will undergo conversion for EV production, temporarily reducing output to around 190,000 units. Updated versions of the i20 and Bayon, including hybrid variants, are also expected to arrive in 2027.
Cheap workforce
Hourly labour costs in Türkiye remain significantly lower than those in Western Europe and are also more affordable than in South Korea, where Hyundai is headquartered.
While Germany, France, and Belgium face average employer costs above €35 per hour, Turkish manufacturing wages are about three times lower, according to salaryexpert.com (€10), allowing Hyundai to price the Ioniq 3 competitively while retaining access to the EU through the customs union.
The strategic importance of producing in Türkiye goes beyond the cost of the workforce. The country has rapidly emerged as Europe’s fourth-largest EV market, with sales climbing from just 1% of the car market five years ago to 15% today.
That share is projected to exceed 30% by 2030. Hyundai will join Togg, Türkiye’s domestic EV brand, as the only manufacturer producing electric cars in the country. In Türkiye, the South Korean carmaker is targeting annual sales of 90,000 vehicles by the end of the decade, with electric models accounting for a substantial share.
Joined by Kia?
Hyundai previewed the Ioniq 3 as the Concept Three design study at the IAA Mobility in Munich. It is a 4.29-meter-long compact with the company’s trademark pixel lighting and a deliberately sporty profile reminiscent of the Veloster.
The production version is expected to launch publicly within weeks. Hyundai Europe’s chief, Xavier Martinet, has described the model as a game-changer that will undercut the Kona Electric while offering greater sophistication, including a new operating system (Pleos) for the infotainment with smartphone-style software integration.
The E-GMP platform allows different battery and drivetrain options. While technical specifications remain undisclosed, it is expected that the Ioniq 3 will adopt a 400-volt system with battery packs of around 58 kWh and 81 kWh in the style of its nephews at Kia, the EV2, and EV3.
The latter is scheduled for production in Slovakia. Whether the first dedicated budget model will join the EV3 or rather be built in Izmit is not yet known.
