It’s no secret that Hyundai is going to reveal a dedicated hybrid that will take on the Toyota Prius, but now we know the name for it.
Get ready to meet the Hyundai Ioniq, the name that slipped from of one of our sources familiar with Hyundai’s future product plans. Hyundai registered the name on June 5 of this year, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Then in July, Hyundai applied to trademark Ioniq with agencies in Europe, Malta, Great Britain, Canada and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The name is a nod to a concept that Hyundai showed off in the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Then called the i-oniq, the concept was an extended range electric vehicle, with very sexy styling.
Rumors are swirling around the powertrain. Expect the Ioniq to use a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine mated to an electric motor and Hyundai’s compact lithium ion polymer battery back. This combination should make the dedicated hybrid more fuel efficient than the Sonata Hybrid, which gets 41 MPG combined. Helping to raise those fuel numbers is a very aerodynamic design, that looks very similar to the Toyota that Hyundai is taking aim at.
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