- Hyundai’s China-bound Ioniq EVs will be unique models, not Chinese versions of existing models like the Ioniq 5 or 6.
- Two new concepts preview Hyundai’s China shift for the Ioniq brand, with planet names replacing the usual numbered designations.
- Hyundai’s China comeback goes beyond EVs, with local EREVs and plug-in hybrids due from 2026.
Hyundai is launching the Ioniq brand of EVs in China, but it won’t be bringing over any existing models. Even though cars like the Ioniq 5 have proven to be global hits, Hyundai will offer a separate Ioniq lineup in China, and it previews the design language with a duo of striking-looking concepts.
The first is the Venus, a sleek and sporty sedan with a similar streamlined look to the Ioniq 6, but it looks nothing like it beyond that. It has a unique side profile that’s just one continuous curve from front to rear. Hyundai describes the interior as a “driver-focused, wrap-around cockpit,” which features a massive screen stretching from the center of the dash all the way in front of the passenger’s seat—this is typical of cars sold in China today.
Gallery: Hyundai Earth and Venus concepts
The Earth is designed as a robust SUV, with plastic cladding around the wheels, plenty of ground clearance, and chunky skid plates and exposed bolts to highlight its ruggedness. Hyundai didn’t say if these two concepts would be turned into production models, but they both have the same design language, and Hyundai says they “preview the future direction of the Ioniq lineup brand ahead of Auto China 2026.”
Ioniq models not built for China won’t share this design direction, though. They will also diverge from the numbered naming strategy and adopt planet names instead, and they will be produced locally rather than imported.
Hyundai used to have six production facilities in China, but tensions between Beijing and Seoul, as well as slowing sales, forced the Korean automaker to close three of them. According to Li Fenggang, the president of Beijing Hyundai Motor joint (Hyundai’s local joint venture with SAIC), "Starting with the two concept cars unveiled today, we will continue to present products that reflect deep insight into Chinese customers and our genuine commitment to this market."
Today, Hyundai’s lineup of imported models in China is very thin, consisting only of the Palisade, Elantra N, and Ioniq 5 N. The latter costs the equivalent of over $60,000, which makes it very expensive by Chinese standards, and there are plenty of other, much cheaper local EVs with similar levels of power.
It offers seven more models locally manufactured by Beijing Hyundai Motor, of which only the Elexio is fully electric. It’s built on the 400-volt and front-wheel-drive version of the E-GMP platform, so it’s more closely related to cars like the Kia EV4 and EV5, not Hyundai’s Ioniq models, which is why its charging power peaks at 150 kilowatts.
Hyundai has big expansion plans in China that go beyond pure EVs to include extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) and plug-in hybrids. The first Hyundai EREVs will enter production both in China and the United States by the end of 2026 and reach customers starting in 2027.
