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Hyundai’s latest performance EV, the Ioniq 6 N, was never going to be a sales leader, but that didn’t stop management from telling the engineers to just, “do it”.
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The fully-electric Hyundai Ioniq 6 N was never going to be a high-volume vehicle, with the regular Ioniq 6 already the slowest-moving nameplate in local Hyundai showrooms, both this year and for the whole of 2024.
But the Korean brand was committed to the program, a position which even impressed the new Hyundai Performance Development Tech Unit head, and ex-Porsche engineer, Manfred Harrer.
“It's not so common,” Harrer told Drive.
“Normally, you're always running the business case first, and the investment, and the material cost and the volume behind it. And normally in the automotive industry, you're very often limited on this.
“But here, it was clear if we have the ideas to improve the car, make it faster, increase the performance, make it easier to drive, do it.”
Being given the mandate and green light to just ‘do it’ is even more surprising considering the Ioniq 6’s position within the Hyundai sales portfolio. “The 6 is a small volume car, the 6 N is even smaller,” said Harrer.
So far this year, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 has sold just 77 units in Australia, compared to 426 Ioniq 5, of which 84 or roughly 20 per cent, are the high-performance 5 N.
For further context, electric sedans similarly-pitched to the Ioniq 6, the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal, have sold 3715 and 1609 units respectively this year.
While much of this is due to stock run down ahead of the facelift model arrival, the ‘streamliner’ sedan sold only 374 units to 933 Ioniq 5 in 2024, and 623 to 947 in 2023, hinting that even with a similar sales split to the 5 N, the 6 N will be a niche within a niche in terms of sales volume.
“We are aware about it. These are small volumes, and we also hit the limit regarding affordability for our customer base and fans face reality. We know this.” said Harrer.
“But to justify the development cost and the engineering effort behind it, it's more for... It's a halo, it helps the brand. It shows our capabilities. That's the purpose behind it.”
Even as a showcase or ‘halo’ car, Harrer isn’t shy about his aspirations for the 6 N, telling Drive: “It shows the upper end of our end spectrum, really the upper end.
“And for sure, it helps the brand, it helps the image. The 5 N is such a successful car with all the awards, and I assume the 6 N goes the same way.”
While the updated Ioniq 6 and high-performance 6 N won't reach Australian shores until early 2026, it will still be some time before the sporty EV’s success is able to be measured.
But Harrer is buoyed by the support from Hyundai management: “Because the volume is small, and (we) do so much changes. This comes with some costs, and normally it goes against the business case.
“But we have this degree of freedom, performance first, and the security of funds to drive this for the goal above.”
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With over 20 years of experience in digital publishing, James Ward has worked within the automotive landscape since 2007 and brings experience from the publishing, manufacturer and lifestyle side of the industry together to spearhead Drive's multi-media content direction.
