Hyundai Ioniq Ending Production This July, No Successor Planned

Available with plug-in hybrid and electric-only powertrains, the South Korean challenger will be axed this July.

“End of an era” is how the South Korean automaker describes the discontinuation of the award-winning liftback that paved the road for the Ioniq 5. The sub-brand will soldier on with the aforementioned nameplate, followed by the Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 7. All three of them - and their batteries - will be produced in Bryan County, Georgia, for the United States market.

Turning our attention back to the Ioniq that doesn’t feature a numerical suffix, the fuel-sipping original made plenty of sense when it launched for the 2017 model year at $23,035, including the $835 destination charge. Not only did it undercut the Prius, but as opposed to its biggest rival, the Ioniq is rocking a dual-clutch automatic that feels much better than an e-CVT.

Another strong point of the Ioniq is fuel efficiency. The 2022 model is rated 59 miles per gallon by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is 3.99 liters per 100 kilometers if you prefer the metric system. By comparison, the Prius doesn’t exceed 56 mpg (4.2 l/100 km) on the combined cycle.

The Prius Prime, which is the plug-in hybrid’s name stateside, levels up to 133 miles per gallon equivalent compared to 119 MPGe for the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid. On the other hand, the South Korean challenger offers 29 miles (nearly 47 kilometers) of electric range compared to Toyota’s 25 (40).

Something the Prius doesn’t have is an electric-only powertrain, which brings us to the Ioniq Electric that was discontinued last year from the U.S. lineup. Capable of 170 miles (approximately 274 kilometers) between charging stops, the zero-emission variant carried a sticker price of $33,245.

The world’s first production car with three levels of electrification sold 135,692 units in the European market between 2016 and December 2021. Over in the U.S., the Ioniq moved 79,302 units through December 2021.