CarBrandLogos archive · Hyundai · 2021
800-volt hardware wrapped in a body that quotes a 1975 hatchback.
Discover the storyPhoto: © M 93 · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Hyundai Ioniq 5, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
Hyundai's earlier electric cars were adapted from combustion models. This one was not: it launched in March 2021 as the first vehicle on E-GMP, a platform designed only for batteries, with a flat floor, a wheelbase longer than most large saloons and no engine bay to work around. The interior exploits that directly, with a sliding centre console and front seats that recline flat for charging stops.
Hyundai 45 EV Concept at IAA 2019 IMG 0683 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
02
The significant engineering is electrical. E-GMP uses an 800-volt architecture, which at launch was shared only with Porsche's Taycan among production cars, allowing very high charging rates and a much shorter stop than most rivals could manage. The same system supports vehicle-to-load power output, so the car can run appliances or charge another electric vehicle from its own battery. Rear-motor rear-drive and dual-motor all-wheel-drive versions were offered from the start.
Hyundai 45 EV Concept at IAA 2019 IMG 0447 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0
03
The design, led by Lee Ji-hyeon, references the 1975 Pony's crisp folded surfaces, with lights built from square pixel blocks that appear in the headlamps, tail lamps and cabin trim. It is a deliberate claim to a history that Hyundai spent decades not talking about.
Hyundai IONIQ 5 N NE N Black Alcantara Suede · Damian B Oh · CC BY-SA 4.0
04
Critics agreed with the ambition: it took World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year in 2022, an unusual sweep. Production expanded from Ulsan to Indonesia and to Hyundai's new Georgia plant, and a high-performance N version followed in 2023. It is the car that established Hyundai as a serious electric manufacturer rather than a fast follower.
At a glance
Produced
2021–presentDesigner
Lee Ji-hyeonBody
5-door SUVTechnical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Ioniq 5's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →Contemporaries from the 2020s
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