Facelifted Hyundai Ioniq 6 could debut in 2025

A report from Electronic Times claims that the facelifted Hyundai Ioniq 6 will debut in May 2025. That’ll be a timely replacement for the current model, which launched in June 2022. Thus, it would be just a month away from turning three. Most carmakers wait at least until a vehicle has been on the market for four years before giving it a facelift.

Ioniq 6 could be built in the US

The new Ioniq 6 could be made in not only Hyundai Motor Company (HMC)’s existing plant in Asan, South Korea, but also the upcoming Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) plant in Ellabell (Georgia), US, as per the report. By manufacturing it locally and meeting other requirements of the US Inflation Reduction Act 2022, Hyundai will be able to make the Ioniq 6 eligible for federal government incentives of up to $7,500 in the US. The factory in Ellabell is under construction and will be ready in Q4 2024. It will be the manufacturer’s first dedicated EV factory worldwide.

Hyundai will build the first prototype of the new Ioniq 6 next month and complete the development of the series-production version by February 2025. Production will commence in May 2025, but probably only for the South Korean market. Electronic Times writes that the Euro-spec version will enter production in August of the same year and then the North American model in November. Hyundai plans to manufacture 60,000 units of the new Ioniq 6 annually in its domestic plant.

New features & improved range

The facelifted Hyundai Ioniq 6 should feature subtle exterior changes, such as revised bumpers, tweaked headlamp and tail lamp clusters, and new alloy wheels. Inside, the updated electric sedan should have a new, three-spoke steering wheel featuring interactive pixel lights and Hands-On Detection (HOD). An even more significant change could be the use of the all-new ‘connected car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC)’ infotainment system.

Hyundai will likely replace the Ioniq 6’s 77.4 kWh battery pack with an 84 kWh unit with its mid-life facelift. When Hyundai executed this change in the Ioniq 5 in South Korea in March, it said that the update increased the car’s maximum range from 458 km to 485 km. A similar improvement in the Ioniq 6 (Long Range 2WD)’s case in South Korea would mean the maximum range going up from 524 km to around 555 km.

European WLTP range figures tend to be higher than those from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in South Korea. For example, the Ioniq 6 (Long Range 2WD)’s maximum WLTP range in Germany is 614 km. That number could go up to approximately 650 km with the facelift in 2025. 

The 84 kWh battery pack is Hyundai’s all-new, fourth-generation battery pack with a higher energy density. If Hyundai stuck to the goal it mentioned in its mid-to-long-term strategy in April 2021, this unit should have an energy density in the higher 600 Wh/L range. This battery was presented for the first time in the Ioniq 5 N, but will also be used in other drive variants of the Ioniq 5 in the future.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 N high-performance sedan will follow

According to the report, the new Hyundai Ioniq 6 range will include a first-ever Hyundai Ioniq 6 N. Previewed by the Hyundai RN22e concept in 2022, the high-performance electric sedan’s powertrain is expected to have higher outputs than those of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

The Ioniq 5 N sports two motors that generate 448 kW and 740 Nm of torque. A boost function temporarily bumps these numbers to 478 kW and 770 Nm, respectively. A 0-100 kph sprint takes 3.5 seconds and the top speed is 260. The Ioniq 6 N may have a slightly lower 0-100 kph acceleration, but its top speed could be the same.

The Ioniq 6 N will debut in September 2025. Thus, its European launch could take place in early 2026. Hyundai will make 6,000 units of the Ioniq 6 N annually at its Asan plant. In Germany, the company may price it around €77,500.

etnews.com (in Korean)