The Hyundai Kona Electric joined the regular Kona subcompact crossover's lineupalong with some changes to its underpinnings.
We asked Gil Castillo, Senior Group Manager, Alternative Vehicle and Advanced Vehicle Strategy for Hyundai Motor North America. His job is to find new market opportunities for new vehicles,5 photosDoes marketing a Kona EV make sense with the Ioniq brand overlap? Castillo says yes, it does make sense to have a vehicle on sale below the Ioniq 5 in size and price, and the Kona satisfies that role for the time being.
Ioniq makes sense as a sub-brand in the transition to EVs because they can combine everything under one tent. EVs are gaining strength and need to be promoted without breaking the bank because the automaker still needs to promote its other models. There can be size and price differentiation between Ioniq models and the rest of the Hyundai lineup, so the Ioniq brand could justify itself. There's also a bit of a sunk-cost element to keeping the brand around.
"There's certainly a place for a vehicle that size," Castillo tells MotorTrend."It's a successful vehicle in an important segment."
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