China’s Hyundai Elexio EV Heads to Australia – Malaysia Next?

The then China-only Hyundai Elexio EV is heading to the Australian market. Is Malaysia next on the list?

Remember the China-only Hyundai Elexio EV? It turns out this EV crossover is heading to the overseas market, as Hyundai confirms that the Elexio will be making its debut in Australia next year, possibly making it the first right-hand drive market to get the EV.

Developed in a partnership with China’s BAIC, the Elexio is intended to headline Hyundai’s affordable EV lineup in the Great Wall nation, where it will be separate from the more premium Ioniq EV lineup. Positioned as a direct rival to the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7, the Elexio will be positioned above the smaller Kona Electric and the more premium Ioniq 5 in Hyundai’s Aussie lineup.

Despite its shared origin with the Chinese, the Elexio still underpins the same Hyundai E-GMP platform as the Ioniq EVs, featuring a battery with up to 88.1 kWh capacity. Hyundai claims the Elexio is good for up to 722 km of CLTC range, while a 30–80% charge takes about 27 minutes to complete.

On the powertrain front, Drive Australia reported that three variants of the Elexio will be offered in the Land Down Under, with the base model set to feature a single-motor setup rated at 215 hp (160 kW). Meanwhile, the mid-spec model will be a single-motor long-range model with the same motor as the base model, while the top-spec will get a dual-motor all-wheel drive option delivering up to 308 hp (230 kW).

Despite being billed as Hyundai’s more affordable EV model, the China-spec Elexio gets a pretty decent cabin setup featuring tons of modern amenities and tech. Some key highlights include a large 27-inch infotainment screen that expands to the front passenger side, wireless chargers, an 8-speaker Bose audio system, a panoramic sunroof, and many more.

In native China, the Hyundai Elexio starts at CNY 119,800 (RM70,625) for the base single-motor variant and tops out at CNY 149,800 (RM88,311) for the range-topping AWD model. That said, Hyundai hasn’t disclosed the prices for the Australian market, although we’d reckon it won’t be as affordable as their Chinese counterpart.

With Australia set to become one of the first overseas RHD markets to get the Elexio, there might be a chance that Malaysia will be the next destination for this midsize EV SUV. That said, Hyundai’s new national sales company (NSC) in Malaysia has yet to announce any plans for future EV models, as it now focuses on getting its locally assembled (CKD) combustion model lineup going first.