Interest in Electric Vehicles Continues in the Second Half of the Year... Focus on Ioniq 6 and EV6 GT

Visitors at the eco-friendly car exhibition 'xEV Trend Korea 2022,' which opened in March this year at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, are examining the Hyundai Prophecy concept model. It is the concept car of the Ioniq 6. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Among the new cars scheduled for domestic release in the second half of this year, there is a high level of interest in eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cars.

According to a survey conducted on the 16th by K Car, a direct used car platform company, targeting 500 consumers aged 30 to 49 nationwide, 35% of respondents chose Hyundai Motor's dedicated electric vehicle Ioniq 6 as their top pick. This model, which applies the self-developed electric vehicle-exclusive platform E-GMP, is gaining attention as a sedan-type electric car. The previous Ioniq 5 is a sports utility vehicle (SUV). The Ioniq 6 is already in production at the Asan plant and is expected to be unveiled as early as next month.

The second most popular car was the Kia EV6 GT, chosen by 25% of respondents. It is a high-performance version of the existing EV6. Hyundai Motor's new Grandeur (24%) and Genesis G70 Shooting Brake (21%) also ranked high.

Among imported cars, major electric vehicles such as the BMW i7 (11%), Mercedes-Benz EQE (10%), and Volkswagen ID.4 (10%) received significant support. When asked about the preferred fuel type when purchasing a car, 35% chose hybrid, the highest proportion, followed by electric vehicles at 31%. This is interpreted as a rapid change in car demand due to recent high oil prices.

Regarding preferred vehicle types, 71% of respondents chose SUVs, the highest proportion, and 39% selected the price range of 30 million to 40 million KRW.