Hyundai and Kia to double down on budget-friendly EVs next year

Hyundai and Kia, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG)’s core brands, are strengthening their focus on the lower end of the electric car market. The South Korean duo plans to launch several budget-friendly EVs next year, targeting both developed and emerging markets.

Based on information from HMG’s internal product planning material, The Korea Economic Daily recently published a report saying Hyundai and Kia are preparing a new product offensive to counter the slowdown in the auto industry and upcoming tariffs from the USA. Together, the mass-market brands will introduce 35 new and refreshed products in 2026, including smaller and cheaper electric cars.

Hyundai is working on a small electric hatchback, which it refers to with the codename ‘BJ1’ in the internal circles. The company plans to bring this EV to showrooms in August 2026. Interestingly, the report suggests the BJ1 won’t be an electric i20, stating the latter as a separate model Hyundai plans to launch in South America and start shipping in the first half of the year.

Perhaps, the BJ1 will be a bespoke EV aimed at European markets, and the electric i20 a lower-cost, ICE-converted alternative for emerging markets. In March, Hyundai announced it plans to start manufacturing EVs at the İzmit plant in Turkey in 2026. The company currently builds the i10, i20, and Bayon at the Turkish factory, and maybe it will begin making EVs there with the BJ1, a
potential VW ID.2 rival.

Two weeks after Hyundai’s announcement, L’argus reported that the first electric model the company plans to build at the İzmit plant will take the form of a B-segment hatchback and borrow the Kia’s EV2 platform. It appears the model the French publication was referring to was the BJ1.

The company plans to offer this model with LFP and NMC battery packs that deliver 300 to slightly over 400 km of WLTP range. Hyundai plans to introduce an Inster-inspired dedicated EV codenamed ‘HE1i’ also in 2026, as per
an earlier report from Autocar Professional. The company is developing it on an ‘E-GMP (K)’ platform and intends to launch it in India in the second half of the year.

Kia will strengthen its budget EV portfolio next year with two models. The company plans to start manufacturing the Euro-focused EV2 in February 2026 and could begin shipping it to dealerships in the spring. In April, it will unveil the electric variant of the Syros, its India-focused small SUV.

Globally, Kia plans to build a diverse EV range comprising 15 models by 2030. However, last month, seeing the recent slowdown in demand, the company reduced its annual EV sales for 2030 from 1.6 million units to 1.26 million units. Hyundai has more aggressive goals, aiming to expand its EV line-up to 21 models and increase its annual EV sales to two million units by the end of the decade.

kedglobal.com, hyundai.news, largus.fr, autocarpro.in, kianewscenter.com kianewscenter.com (roadmap)