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Hyundai to roll out IONIQ 9 in US and Korea in 2025

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Three-row EV market includes Lucid, Rivian, Vinfast and

Kia

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EV growth slows

By Abhirup Roy

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor ( HYMTF )

unveiled its first three-row electric SUV on

Wednesday, pushing into a market for big family cars that global

automakers hope will one day be a profit powerhouse.

Hyundai's IONIQ 9 will roll out in the United States and Korea

early next year with a range of more than 300 miles, the Korean

automaker said in a statement. Launches in Europe and other

markets will follow, it said.

Three-row SUVs have replaced minivans and station wagons to

become the big car of choice for many soccer moms and dads

carrying kids and friends around town as well as road trips with

lots of passengers and gear.

Most EVs are money-losing. But profits from the

gasoline-powered versions promise automakers big payoffs as

battery costs decline, and early launches give the brands a

headstart in the emerging market segment.

Lucid, General Motors' ( GM ) Cadillac, Volvo

and Vinfast all are launching three-row

EVs, while Hyundai corporate cousin Kia already has its own

version.

"It's a very important segment on the gas side," said Sam

Fiorani, vice president at research firm AutoForecast Solutions.

"The problem with it is that they are large vehicles and finding

a way to design a battery pack around all the storage and the

utility of a three-row takes a concerted effort."

Moreover, big batteries are not enough to avoid charging

during long road trips.

Still, automakers need to get into the three-row SUV market

to give loyal customers options, Fiorani said. "If you aren't in

that field where they expect you to be, they're going to move to

somebody else, and it's much easier to keep a customer happy

than to win a customer away from another brand."

With current incentives, Fiorani forecast that the new models

will help to more than double sales of three-row EVs to around

150,000 next year, from an estimated 68,000 this year.

The handful of models in the market with three-row versions

includes Rivian's R1S, starting at $76,000 and Tesla's Model X,

which starts at $80,000. There is also a Model Y three-row

variant.

Lucid started taking orders for its $95,000 Gravity SUV this

month and Vietnamese EV maker VinFast on Tuesday started

delivering the VF 9 SUV with a $70,000 starting price.

Hyundai did not disclose a price for the IONIQ 9, but the

Kia EV9 starts at $55,000, and models from the related companies

are often similarly priced.

Hyundai aims to have a full lineup of 23 EV models by 2030.

The IONIQ 9, built in Georgia, will be able to charge from 10%

to 80% in 24 minutes at high-capacity charging stations, and it

is compatible with Tesla's Supercharger network.

TEMPERED ESTIMATES

Most automakers are pressing ahead with their plans even as

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to pull back

government incentives for EVs.

However, Ford in August shelved plans to produce an electric

three-row SUV, choosing instead to build hybrid SUVs to woo

customers with longer-range vehicles for road trips. Rivals are

also responding to rising consumer demand for cars with

gas-powered engines and a small battery pack as a less expensive

way to go electric.

"The whole EV market right now is difficult and (building

three-row EVs) is especially difficult because of the higher

prices and costs associated with it," said Jessica Caldwell,

head of insights at auto research firm Edmunds.

The vehicles are part of automakers' long term strategy to

expand EV offerings, but "expectations definitely need to be

tempered in terms of volume in this segment," she said.

The high price and limited range, especially for family

road trips, restrict the appeal of such vehicles to early EV

adopters, she added.

The target audience of wealthy buyers for three-row SUVs should

not be discouraged by Trump's plans to cut a $7,500 federal tax

credit for EV buyers, analysts said, noting that most do not

qualify for such subsidies anyway.

Still, it does not help, Caldwell said. "I think it just

makes the package seem a lot less attractive."