Hyundai’s first dedicated electric car
This is the first time that Korean products are selected.
Hyundai Motor Company announced on the 9th that the Ioniq 5 was selected as the “Imported Car of the Year” at the “Car of the Year” event hosted by the “Executive Committee of Car of the Year in Japan”.
This is the first time that a Korean car has appeared in the “Car of the Year in Japan” award list.
Japan’s Car of the Year was established in 1980 and selects the “Top 10” through a judges vote for new cars released in Japan each year. Subsequently, the car of the year for each category is selected through test drive evaluation and the final vote.
The Ioniq 5 won Import Car of the Year in Japan, beating out BMW iX, Land Rover Range Rover and Renault Arcana, who jointly finished in the top 10.
Regarding the Ioniq 5 award, the Japanese Car of the Year Committee said, “The judges highly praised the Ioniq 5 for its innovative interior and exterior design, long driving distance per charge, dynamic driving performance and the various specifications of practicality and safety”. in particular, there were many opinions that the function of changing the level of regenerative braking with the steering wheel-mounted paddle shift also provided driving pleasure.
Ioniq 5 is the first dedicated electric vehicle developed on the basis of Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform. In February, Hyundai Motor Company, which announced its re-entry into the Japanese passenger car market after 12 years, held various experiential events in major Japanese regions such as Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. It has been selling the Ioniq 5 and Nexo online since May, and in July it signed a contract to supply 50 Ioniq 5s to MK taxis in Japan and is actively targeting the Japanese market.
Cho Won-sang, chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor Japan, said, “Since the start of sales, the Ioniq 5 has been very popular among the great interest of Japanese consumers.”
