Forget Ioniq 6: Hyundai’s 2027 Venus sedan Is the real future

Hyundai unveiled two brand new concepts just a few days ago. The Venus sedan Concept and Earth SUV Concept celebrate the launch of the Ioniq models in China. I guess these weren’t sold over there until now, which feels surprising given how central EV adoption has become in that market.

It seems the largest car market in the world won’t be getting current Ioniq models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, 6 or 9. But brand new models instead. Like production versions of the Earth SUV and Venus sedan, for a start. That alone says a lot about how quickly expectations are shifting there, and how brands are forced to rethink entire lineups just to stay competitive.

The sedan is quite futuristic and reminds me of what many were expecting from Honda’s stunning 0 Series sedan concept. But no. Honda gave up before it even started, or at least slowed things down to a crawl. Meanwhile, expectations kept rising, and the market didn’t wait around.

At the same time, Hyundai is far from giving up. Instead pushing ahead with a couple of futuristic EVs that look ready to challenge anything coming out of China right now. The top images show the production version of the Venus sedan already caught covered in camouflage. That was fast, almost unusually fast for a traditional automaker. It is also quite amazing to see how close the production car will be to the concept. One futuristic car indeed.

This proves the two models are already far along in development and they already seem almost ready to go. In China, where things move very fast. Faster than any other car market in the world, where new designs and tech cycles feel almost continuous and relentless.

For the rest of us, maybe we could hope the stunning Venus design could influence the second generation Ioniq 5. Which could be due out in a couple of years in our part of the world. Or a replacement for the Ioniq 6. Or even both, if Hyundai decides to unify its design direction globally.

Things are looking pretty futuristic at Hyundai these days. The future looks bright. Maybe it’s even time to get spandex jackets and hope for New York to Paris in 90 minutes.