Hyundai's Next EV Could Be Its Cheapest Yet — Everything We Know So Far

Hyundai's Next EV Could Be Its Cheapest Yet — Everything We Know So Far originally appeared on Autoblog.

Will The U.S. Get It?

After super-sizing with the Hyundai Ioniq 9 three-row SUV, Hyundai Motor Group is heading in the opposite direction with its next Ioniq EV. The Korea Times reports that a smaller—and likely more affordable—model called the Hyundai Ioniq 2 will debut in September at the Munich Auto Show.

Likely to be a crossover smaller than the current HyundaiIoniq 5, the Ioniq 2 may be shown in concept form rather than as a production-ready model. But InsideEVs has rounded up spy shots and video from the YouTube channel HealerTV of prototypes out testing, indicating that a production version is on the way. Here's what we know so far.

Kia EV2 Sibling

Just as other Hyundai Ioniq EVs have shared the automaker's E-GMP platform with Kia models, the Ioniq 2 is expected to be a sibling to the Kia EV2, which was first shown in concept form earlier this year at Kia's EV Day presentation in Tarragona, Spain, and is expected to reach production in 2026.

With its boxy styling, the EV2 almost looked like an heir to the Kia Soul EV that was sold in the U.S. in limited numbers during the 2015-2019 model years. But spy shots and video of camouflaged prototypes hint at a more curvaceous, hatchback-like shape for the Ioniq 2. We won't know for sure until the covers come off in Munich, though.

If the Ioniq 2's specs reflect those of the EV2, it'll sit between the Hyundai Kona Electric and Volvo EX30 in size, which would make it pretty small by U.S. standards. To keep it affordable, the EV2 is expected to use an economy version of the E-GMP platform (also shared with the upcoming Kia EV3) with 400-volt charging instead of 800-volt, and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells. Expect the Ioniq 2 to do the same.

Europe Will Likely Be Its Main Market

The EV2 is expected to start at around 30,000 euros (roughly $34,000), meaning the Ioniq 2 should be in the same ballpark. That would be great for a U.S. market currently lacking in affordable vehicles, but both the EV2 and Ioniq 2 might be too small to work here, and Hyundai's EV priorities may be elsewhere.

While Hyundai's current Ioniq models have sold well, the loss of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and the Trump Administration's new 15% tariff on Korean cars will weaken the business case for these smaller EVs, the Korea Times notes. It's more likely that Hyundai will skip the U.S. and focus on the European market, where EVs—and small cars in general—are more welcome.

Hyundai's Next EV Could Be Its Cheapest Yet — Everything We Know So Far first appeared on Autoblog on Aug 9, 2025

This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 9, 2025, where it first appeared.