PT Hyundai Motor Indonesia (HMMID) is apparently very serious about selling electric cars in Indonesia. They apparently were not satisfied with only selling two electric cars from the Hyundai Ioniq family, namely the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Hyundai Ioniq 6.
In fact, in a discussion held in Jakarta, Tuesday (21/11/2023), HMID COO Fransiscus Soerjopranoto actually said that he would bring high-seater electric cars to Indonesia.
Fransiscus Soerjopranoto confirmed that his party was preparing the latest electric car model. This time, they are targeting the middle segment which has a fairly large market in Indonesia.
“This investment will encourage our production to increase. “Then we wanted to come up with a new variant,” said Fransiscus Soerjopranoto.
“So if there is now the Ioniq 5, maybe we will introduce it soon next year, a variant below the Ioniq 5. We also don’t rule out the possibility of introducing the one above that or the one we don’t have yet, the 7 seater,” he continued.
As is known, the 7-seater or 7 passenger MPV segment has a very large market in Indonesia. This is proven by very large sales figures and continues to lead the market to this day.
“Where 7 seaters are like MPV class vehicles, they are vehicles that are very popular in Indonesia and that is a characteristic of Indonesia. “Cars (7 seater) are like white paper, the market is still wide, the shapes are still varied,” said Frans.
Frans said that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 have received quite good reception in the Indonesian market. Therefore, he said that Hyundai did not hesitate to enter the segment below the two electric car models.
“We see opportunities for segments below the Ioniq 5 and 6. But we also have the opportunity to meet the local needs of Indonesian people who are very familiar with 7-seaters or MPVs, meaning we will also enter that segment,” he said.
So what is the picture of the seven-seat electric car that Hyundai will offer to Indonesia? Currently, from the plans announced by Hyundai Global, the only electric car that will be available is the Hyundai Ioniq 7.
The electric car actually meets the description desired by Fransiscus Soerjopranoto. Seven seats and a very large body.
It’s just that the Hyundai Ioniq 7 is an SUV, not an MPV. However, now the boundaries between SUV and MPV are almost blurred.
Sometimes there are MPVs that look like SUVs. On the other hand, there are also SUVs that are similar to MPVs.
What is certain is that the Hyundai Ioniq 7 has currently been tested in Germany. It is planned that this large electric car will be officially sold next year. Please note that the Hyundai Ioniq 7 shares a platform with the KIA EV9 which is also sold in Indonesia.
