Who wants an upgraded Ioniq?

goz83

So I had written to Hyundai via facebook and finally got a reply today.


From Me:

Why are there no optional extras available to Hyundai Ireland customers for the Ioniq Electric? The UK equivalent can order a Premium version, which has many extras, including leather seats and front parking sensors, but the Irish customer is left with no options.....unless you count 5 bland colours as options.

When each car has to be ordered in, with a wait time of 2+ months, it is quite ridiculous that the Irish customer is being left with the most basic spec. The local garage said they could retro-fit leather seats for €1500, which is totally unacceptable. Is it true that as an Irish customer, I cannot place an order for a better than basic spec, which our UK and other Euro counter parts are able to?


REPLY:

Hi Goz83, thanks for getting in touch.

Due to worldwide demand for the IONIQ we are extremely limited in the number we can get from Hyundai.
By choosing the specification we did we were able to maximise the number of cars we received.

The UK despite offering this trim level are in practice sold out and like ourselves have backorders.
Despite being a market 20 times the size of Ireland we will probably sell broadly similar numbers over the year.

As more production slots become available we hope to introduce different trim levels but this is unlikely to be this year.
We share your frustration but some countries in Europe have been unable to even launch the IONIQ due to supply restrictions we have chosen a route that allows us to maximise sales to the most amount of people.
We are sorry that we are unable to take orders for other specifications at present as we are unable to give a realistic timeline.

Thanks,
the Hyundai Ireland Team.

I'm glad of the response, but I am still put off the Ioniq because of it. I doubt they're that concerned about a single lost sale though. I'm going to go far a used Leaf and then buy a 1 year old premium Ioniq from the UK in 12 months if prices drop enough. This way, myself and the wife can get used to being EV owners while having an ICE for another year. I know better will be available in a year, but the range is not a big concern to us. Current 24KW Leaf range is grand.

unkel

Sounds like an honest response. Consistent with what I've been reading on a lot of forums (from other countries) about demand for the car, limited production and delays in delivery

It's a pity that the Hyundai dealers aren't aware of this. Or worse. Are aware but utterly fail to communicate this to the customer. Hyundai Ireland and the dealers have room to improve here to put it mildly.

goz83

unkel wrote: »

Sounds like an honest response. Consistent with what I've been reading on a lot of forums (from other countries) about demand for the car, limited production and delays in delivery

It's a pity that the Hyundai dealers aren't aware of this. Or worse. Are aware but utterly fail to communicate this to the customer. Hyundai Ireland and the dealers have room to improve here to put it mildly.

Absolutely agreed. They are terrible at communicating. The attitude I got at the dealership was void of empathy. If you can't get something for a customer, apologise (even if it's not your fault) and try to sweeten the deal another way. Had the "Ioniq specialist" been a bit more engaging, I might be up there today handing over a deposit. He wasn't rude, but lacked the skills needed to actually sell something. He lost the sale for his colleague, who was out for lunch when I dropped in. That said, the colleague still hasn't been in touch regarding an extended test drive :rolleyes:

unkel

Pretty much the reason that for whatever I buy, I gather the necessary info myself (and not from a salesman). And my only contact with a salesperson is to do a deal, not talk about content, just price. But if were interested in optional extras like yourself, I would have been snookered too, like yourself.

We are still at quite early adoption stage of BEVs and like yourself unkel most of the buyers are very clued on about what they are buying. It would probably the easiest sale ever to a salesman if they actually bothered responding.
For example in my case when considering a leaf back in '15 I contacted nissan via the website for a testdrive. At that stage I had never even driven an EV. No response. Thought that was a bit odd but the next time I happened to be around Airside Nissan we went to take a look. There we met this sales guy who took us for a spin on his car after which we agreed on a weekend long testdrive there and then and on Monday I put on deposit. Easy money for a dealer.

Just a point to add. Back in 2015 it was only possible to buy a Leaf from select dealers. The nissan website claimed that they had dropped contacts to the closest dealer, which was some crowd near Blanchardtown. I'm still waiting for the call from them two years later. Windsor Airside was the next closest dealer for me so they were the people who got my custom and the yearly services too. I also know who to contact first when it's time to change next time.

bk

Have any of you guys been in a Tesla showroom?

What an incredible difference. I walk in and I'm immediately approached by two staff. I explain that I'm a tourist and definitely not buying, but would they mind if I take a quick look.

Not only did they not mind, but I ended up spending almost an hour there, checking out every feature of the car, being shown every detail of how it works, offered to take my picture in it and spent all that time chatting with me about Ireland and what EV's we have here, the charging network, etc. They were downright genuinely friendly and interested. Even though they knew I wasn't going to be a sale.

Now I know all about US sales people and I can smell the fake, cringy "friendliness" of US retail staff from a mile away, but these two seemed genuinely different. They were either genuinely enthusiastic about it all or the best sales people and actors I've ever meet.

Either way had I lived in the US, I would have probably left with a Model S after that experience.

Hmmm... I better save my pennys for a model 3.

KCross

I read somewhere that they are not on commission. Their job is to get you interested in the car and then you buy it online. Very different model to traditional car sales.

bk

KCross wrote: »

I read somewhere that they are not on commission. Their job is to get you interested in the car and then you buy it online. Very different model to traditional car sales.

Yup, though they knew I wasn't going to be buying at all, and yet was still more interested then any sales person I've ever meet.

Though logically perhaps Tesla looks at this over the long term, perhaps their staff are encouraged to get everyone interested, even if they live in a different country and might be years before they can buy.

To be honest, that sounds very Musk like to me. Get people excited about EV's in general, even if they can't buy today.

unkel

It's basic professionalism too. Go into Frank Keane BMW on the Naas road, for a €3 part and see how you are treated. Hint: a lot better than most of you have described their experience going into a Hyundai or Nissan dealer interested in buying an EV.

KCross

Here is the article I read
https://www.tesla.com/blog/tesla-approach-distributing-and-servicing-cars

It is a few years old so I'm assuming they haven't changed their model.

They call them product specialists, not salesmen!

bk

KCross wrote: »

Here is the article I read
https://www.tesla.com/blog/tesla-approach-distributing-and-servicing-cars

That is why we are deliberately positioning our store and gallery locations in high foot traffic, high visibility retail venues, like malls and shopping streets that people regularly visit in a relatively open-minded buying mood. This allows us to interact with potential customers and have them learn about our cars from Tesla Product Specialists before they have decided which new car to buy. The Product Specialists are also trained to answer questions about electric vehicles in general, not just ours. They are not on commission and they will never pressure you to buy a car. Their goal and the sole metric of their success is to have you enjoy the experience of visiting so much that you look forward to returning again.

Yup that is exactly what it was like, in a nice shopping mall, surrounded by Apple store, Ambrombie and Fitch, etc. Super nice and friendly staff, that seemed very enthusiastic about EV's in general. And it was a very cool and memorable experience.

I have to say I think the idea of putting the store in the middle of a shopping mall is a very smart one. I think it is a very smart way to reach the younger generation who might not have experience of ever buying a car before or visiting the frankly depressing car dealerships.