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Hyundai Ioniq will be the name of company’s Prius fighter – report

Hyundai's upcoming Prius-fighter, which is expected to debut next year, will reportedly be named Ioniq.


According to AutoGuide, Hyundai will christen its upcoming Prius-fighting dedicated hybrid hatch as the Ioniq. The website believes that Hyundai has registered the name with the Korean Intellectual Property Office in June of this year.

The Korean automaker then filed paperwork to register the trademark in Great Britain, Malta, other parts of Europe, and Canada in July. Hyundai has also reportedly put in an application with the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

If the name sounds familiar, it's because Hyundai debuted a concept car, named the i-oniq, at the 2012 Geneva motor show.

The i-oniq concept had a Aston Martin-like three-door body and winged doors. Under the skin it featured plug-in hybrid drivetrain with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, a lithium-ion battery, and a claimed EV range of 120km.

For the production Ioniq, Hyundai will likely use a drivetrain that's similar to the one employed by the Prius, with efficient four-cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor and small battery pack.

Late last month, while the world's media were focused on the Tokyo motor show, Hyundai unveiled a new 1.6-litre direct-injection engine. Dubbed Kappa, the new motor is designed specifically for hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, and features an efficient Atkinson cycle setup.

The Kappa motor generates 77kW of power and 147Nm of torque. It will make its production debut in 2016, the same year that the Ioniq is also expected to be launched.

Fuel efficiency in the Ioniq will be helped by its aerodynamic Kamm-back style body shape, and narrow, low rolling resistance tyres.

Our spy photographers last snapped Hyundai's Prius challenger in Europe around the middle of 2015.

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