Hyundai’s electric hatch starts at under $30,000, and interest is already sky-high
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- Hyundai revealed IONIQ 3 UK pricing starting under £25,000 (~$33,500), with the base Standard Range already listed at £22,245 (~$29,800) on Vertu Motors' website.
- The IONIQ 3 has generated "the highest-ever level of customer interest recorded for a new Hyundai model," whether gas-powered or EV, the company said.
- The electric hatch made its first public "on the road" debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Friday ahead of a UK launch later this year, positioned as a smaller, more affordable sibling to the IONIQ 5.
- The IONIQ 3 uses a 400V architecture (rather than the IONIQ 5's 800V) to cut costs, with two battery options — 42.2 kWh delivering 213 miles WLTP and 61 kWh offering 308 miles — both charging 10–80% in roughly 29–30 minutes.
- The IONIQ 3 becomes Hyundai's first European/UK vehicle equipped with the new Pleos Connect OS built on Android Automotive, featuring a Gleo AI companion, 12.9″ or 14.6″ center screens, and the return of physical buttons for climate and audio controls.
- Hyundai confirmed the IONIQ 3 is designed and built in Europe for European buyers and won't reach the US, where import tariffs and weak hatchback demand rule it out; the IONIQ 5 ($35,000, built in Georgia) remains America's affordable Hyundai EV.
Why it matters: At ~$29,800, the IONIQ 3 undercuts most EVs in its class while offering 441 liters of luggage space — which Hyundai says "will set the benchmark in the segment" — and up to 308 miles of WLTP range. US buyers are excluded by design: Hyundai builds the car in Europe specifically for European buyers, where import tariffs wouldn't make shipping it across the Atlantic economically viable.
