Q&A with Hyundai’s Tim White

IONIQ 5 stealing the limelight as Hyundai looks to go big on fleet

Hyundai Motors’ Tim White explains why he thinks his company’s exciting line-up of all-electric and PHEV models will prove irresistible to fleet buyers

CC&V: There are supply issues for most car and van manufacturers, relating to a worldwide semi-conductor shortage. Has this affected the supply of any of your models, especially the IONIQ 5?

TW: Hyundai haven’t escaped the challenges of recent times but we have been bolstering our component inventory and diversifying our supply chain which has helped to manage the current situation.

Stocks in the UK are slightly lighter than our usual levels but many cars are still available from UK stock within weeks as opposed to months. A typical factory lead time for any model/colour not in the UK is still circa three months.

We had good supply of IONIQ 5 arriving in September and scheduled for Q4, which will enable us to launch this car effectively to our fleet audience.

CC&V: As an all-new EV, IONIQ 5 is stealing the headlines. How has it been received by SME fleets and have you seen success in IONIQ 5 sales in our sector?

TW: The Hyundai team are busy positioning the car with fleets in order to ensure it is competitively placed alongside other premium offerings of similar P11D price and size.

The interest from both company car fleets and Salary Sacrifice scheme operators has been phenomenal. Order banks are growing rapidly and we are seeing a vast spread of single orders from drivers across many different customer agreements, with a further extensive hand raiser list of customers wanting to trial the car first. It is too early to say what the typical fleet size is for those showing initial interest.

CC&V: As more electric cars enter the market place, why should customers consider a Hyundai EV or Plug-In as their next company car?

TW: We have been at the forefront of BEV product offerings for over four years with our IONIQ range and KONA Electric. Our impressive whole-life costs and reliability credentials have already been proven.

It is a real testament to our product offering that we have supplied over 600 Kona EVs to large corporate fleets, including Police Scotland.

With IONIQ 5 and future EV models to come on the same E-GMP platform we are building purpose made EVs in their own right as opposed to adopting current range ICE cars and this provides the customer with a competitive offering alongside state-of-the-art features and technology that drivers want from an EV.

Being able to also provide Plug-in Hybrid powertrains on cars like TUCSON in the popular SUV segment will also be an effective way of attracting user chooser drivers who want low BIK as well as a segment leading product but are not quite ready to adopt to full EV.

CC&V: The Hyundai corporate dealer network will have an important part to play in helping SMEs transition from ICEs to EVs. How are Hyundai helping them to do this?

TW: We have focused more this year on our fleet marketing tools to aid our dealer network. We are offering product tools and guides not only for product explanation but for EV adoption and charging guides. We are also focusing on whole-life cost messaging to enable our dealers to promote the TCO calculations versus traditional up-front cap ex calculations as we know that over the longer term, EV products present a competitive total cost after charging, removal of fuel and any NIC/BIK savings are factored in if it’s a company car purchase.

CC&V: What percentage of overall UK IONIQ 5 sales will be expected to come from the corporate sector, compared to the retail sector?

TW: IONIQ 5 represents a strong new EV offering for fleets, who are looking for zero-emission alternatives so we expect it to be popular with our fleet customers.

We have high levels of interest so far and have a good level of supply to meet demand.

CC&V: In a recent survey about electric cars and vans, our readers biggest concerns continued to be around EV range anxiety and access to charging points. Based on our findings, do you think that electric is the way forward or do your ‘plug-in-hybrid’ models, such as TUCSON and SANTA FE have an important role to play in the transition to cleaner fleets?

TW: We are seeing a broad range of ULEV adoption with fleets, with many taking the full plunge into EVs while others transition from diesel with Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid choices in the main. We want to offer a broad and balanced product offering to our customers including fuel cell electric vehicles like NEXO, to meet all requirements.

The new IONIQ range will introduce a large electric SUV in the not too distant future and, until then, the PHEV offerings of TUCSON and SANTA FE will be popular with fleets and their drivers.

With SANTA FE, we are one of the few manufacturers to offer a legitimate and practical seven-seat SUV PHEV. Our WLTP range credentials speak for themselves, with KONA Electric offering up to 300 miles of range and IONIQ 5 up to 298 miles, and this has helped give drivers confidence against any range anxiety.

Our next generation electric models like IONIQ 5 will offer improved charging capacity (10-80% in 18 mins on 350kw charger) along with a robust range plus we are also supporting the development of the EV infrastructure through our investment in the IONITY network.