If you thought Hyundai's pure-electric Ioniq 5 SUV was a bolt of design and brand image lightning that wouldn't (or couldn't?) strike twice, think again, because the South Korean giant has plenty more where that came from.
And according to Hyundai Australia's Chief Operating Officer, John Kett, Ioniq is adding a premium lustre to the Hyundai brand.
"Ioniq now has lifted itself up as the halo of our brand. It's demonstrating to us, and the data really does show it, that people who understand Ioniq have a higher appreciation of Hyundai," he said.
Following the recent launch of the dramatic Ioniq 6 sedan, two more Ioniq models will hit Aussie showrooms in 2023 - a racy N version of the Ioniq 5 and the Ioniq 7 large SUV.
"So, it's a big year for us in sort of laying down a clear marker," Kett said.
"We have our Hyundai brand, and we have the Genesis nameplate. We've created a 100 per cent owned retail business for Genesis to focus on luxury cars and quality.
"Then the Ioniq brand means we're able to position ourselves closer to head-to-head versus the competition than historically we have been, and it sets the tone.
"That's in terms of expectations for the delivery experience. It sets a level in terms of the type of technology that must be in that vehicle to be an Ioniq, and creating that halo, creating that price ladder, and expectation around service."
Reflecting on the Hyundai brand more broadly Mr Kett said: "We're anchored around this thought of value-for-money, and intrinsically it's a really good measure in terms of ‘I'm willing to pay for that price point'."
But he adds: "That consciousness around value-for-money means there's a sense I need to be sub-$19,990 or sub-$29,990 for a car. We can't quite disassociate ourselves from it. People just see that."
"And I think that's strong when we move into the critical mass phase of EV, that people recognise we will have entry-price EVs at some point.
"But at the moment, to get the premium that we're looking for, and when the market does compress a little bit and competition increases, we need to make sure that when we're discounting, we're discounting relative to our competitors to get our volume, not doubling the discount, and historically we've had to do that, or go down desperate channels.
"Some multi-1000 (unit) deal to a rental company, at a huge discount. We can't afford to do that.
"So, our brand experience has to improve, the customer experience on the front end and the back end needs to improve, and the user experience, that journey that started online, the way we integrate with consumers, the way in which we're communicating with them. That type of experience also needs to improve in the pre-sales process.
"I can see that we're improving but to sell the aspiration we need to fill our portfolio up, because household loyalty is really important, too. The two car garage.
"Ioniq just lifts everything else up around our Hyundai business. So, it's slowly coming together in terms of what we would like to see," he said.
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