Hyundai teases cheap EV with retro Ioniq 5 styling alongside $21,500 rumored price tag for June reveal

Hyundai's EV efforts have recently kicked it up a notch, specifically with regards to the Ioniq 5 and its N performance variant, however, it's not the premium EVs that are going to win over the general population. As such, Hyundai recently teased an upcoming subcompact EV, called the Inster, which may fill the gap for shoppers on the lower end of the EV market.

The Inster will be based on the thus-far Korea-exclusive Hyundai Casper, which looks sort of like a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and an older Land Rover Discovery were thrown into a blender together. However, the Inster will replace the Casper's petrol engine with an electric motor and a battery pack.

While it's unclear just how much power the Inster will produce, although it will be surprising to see the Inster exceed the 99 hp produced by the Casper. It's also unlikely that the Inster will make it to the US, thanks to its diminutive size — the Casper measures in at just under 3.6 m long and 1.6 m wide — and its somewhat middling 355 km (ca. 220 miles) of range.

The teasers also indicate that the visuals will receive a slight refresh in the electrification process, making the Inster look bulkier and more premium than its petrol-powered counterpart.

The Inster will feature a similar lighting scheme to the Ioniq 5, taking inspiration from retro-futures aesthetics with a pixel layout on the front and back of the compact crossover SUV and round headlights set into the bottom of the front bumper.

To describe the styling of Hyundai's Ioniq lineup as Marmite may be an understatement, but it's certainly attention-grabbing, and it will be interesting to see that styling filter down into a cheaper EV for the masses.

Hyundai will launch the Inster later this month at the Busan International Mobility Show in Korea, and it will likely start showing up in Europe early next year. Pricing is uncertain, but rumours indicate that it will start at the equivalent of around $21,500 in Europe.

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