Eager would-be customers had yet another mad scramble to get hold of one of the 250 highly sought after all electric Ioniq 5s that went on sale on Hyundai’s website at 1pm (AEDT) on Thursday.
Hyundai has suggested that more than 20,000 Australians have registered their interest for the award-winning electric SUV over the last 12 months, but only 756 have been delivered to date. Multiple on line “drops” have been sold out in minutes, much to the frustration of some would be buyers, some of whom have described it as a”chook raffle”.
This month’s 250 unit batch equates to a third of all sales from 2022 and the largest single drop to date. Hopefully, it also marks the beginning of a ramp up in sales numbers for 2023.
Would-be customers vented their frustration with Hyundai’s ordering process for the Ioniq 5 in online forums. There were also reports of technical problems on the ordering page.
Hyundai confirmed with The Driven that 202 of the offering were gone within 15 minutes, and most of the rest within an hour. Some cars will be back online tonight as the company says it has cancelled orders from “known prospectors and second time customers.”
One couple was so desperate they each tried to source a vehicle. They ended up with two. “There will be an Epic Gravity Gold going back on the website at some point in time,” said the husband on a Facebook page. “Both my wife and I were trying as the website crashed a couple of times and we both managed to secure them (in Victoria).”
Others were not so lucky.
“Tried 2 different colours in Epiq then 2 in Technique. All gone by 1.04 in Melbourne,” said one.
Another advised: “Gotta be quick. People aren’t kidding when they say they sell out fast. But also – keep checking regularly over the next week, some people will cancel their orders, and the allocation will return to the website.”
This latest batch included three variants: 44 of the 2WD Dynamiq starting at $72,000; 143 of the all-wheel drive Techniq from $79,500; and 63 of the EPIQ all-wheel drive from $85,000.
The entry level Dynamiq comes with a 168kW rear wheel motor. The dual motor Techniq and Epiq come with a 165kW rear motor and a 74kW front motor. All three variants have a 77.4kWh Lithium-ion battery giving a range of 454 to 507 km. The new 2023 model battery is a 7% increase in capacity compared to the previous model which was 72.6 kWh.
The two dual motor variants will have a zero-to-100km/h time of just 5.1 seconds. The new ‘flagship’ Epiq debuts with digital side mirrors, a high-efficiency heat pump system and battery conditioning.
This batch was the first available in all Australian states and territories including customers in the NT and Far North Queensland who have been unable to place orders during previous shipments. Buyers can expect delivery within two to four weeks.
Daniel Bleakley is a clean technology researcher and advocate with a background in engineering and business. He has a strong interest in electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and public policy.
