Hyundai's IONIQ 3 Rolls Off the Line in Turkey, Giving Europe a Homegrown Rival to BYD's Small EVs
The first Hyundai IONIQ 3 electric hatchbacks are now rolling off the line at the company's İzmit plant in Turkey, turning the factory into Hyundai's first overseas site to build one of its dedicated battery cars. The production start gives Europe a locally built answer to the wave of small, affordable EVs arriving from China.
Hyundai held a ceremony at the İzmit facility on Friday to mark the moment, with Turkey's Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Hyundai Motor Europe CEO Xavier Martinet, and Hyundai Motor Türkiye CEO Alex Kim all on hand. The company confirmed the IONIQ 3 will go on sale in September, with markets added through the rest of the year. Hyundai's own announcement frames the start as a milestone for both the company and the country's automotive industry.
A Small Car Built for Europe's Biggest Segment
The IONIQ 3 is Hyundai's first B-segment electric vehicle and its smallest IONIQ model to date, sitting between the Inster city car and the Kona Electric in the lineup. It is also the first EV the brand designed specifically for the European market, and the timing is deliberate: B-segment cars account for roughly 15 percent of all European car sales, and while EVs currently make up about 14 percent of that segment, Hyundai expects the share to climb toward 65 percent by 2035.
Size-wise the hatch measures 4,155 mm long, 1,800 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall on a 2,680 mm wheelbase, which makes it slightly smaller than the Kia EV3. Despite the compact footprint, Hyundai quotes luggage space of up to 441 liters, and it expects the car to set the benchmark for practicality in its class.
Two battery packs are on offer. The standard 42.2 kWh pack delivers a WLTP range of up to 344 km (213 miles), while the extended-range 61 kWh pack stretches that to 496 km (308 miles). DC fast charging takes the small pack from 10 to 80 percent in about 29 minutes, with the larger pack needing roughly 30 minutes. Those numbers put it ahead of most of the direct competition on range per euro, which is exactly where Hyundai wants to fight.
A €250 Million Bet on Turkish Manufacturing
Getting the plant ready for EV production took a €250 million (around $290 million) investment and a two-year transformation that modernized more than half of the İzmit facility. The workforce went through its own change: more than 1,000 employees shifted into new roles as the plant converted from building combustion and hybrid models to handling battery-electric assembly.
Hyundai Motor Türkiye has now invested €1.185 billion in the country since the plant opened in 1997, and the company employs about 2,400 people at İzmit and its İstanbul headquarters. The plant is also Hyundai's oldest overseas production facility, which makes the switch to EVs a symbolic as well as practical step. Over the years the site has built everything from small sedans to the i20 supermini, so the tooling and the workforce were already in place; what changed was the powertrain.
Initial output is set at 30,000 IONIQ 3 units per year. Hyundai says the next-generation BAYON and i20 will follow at the same site from next year, and a battery system assembly line, built with affiliate Hyundai Mobis, is being added on the plant grounds to support hybrid battery assembly.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Kacır called the investment proof that Turkey's next-generation mobility vision is gaining recognition among global automakers. Alex Kim, CEO of Hyundai Motor Türkiye, said the IONIQ 3 represents a long-term commitment from the company and its European and Turkish operations alike.
The wider point is not lost on the industry: this is the first passenger EV built by a foreign automaker in Turkey. Because Turkey sits inside a customs union with the European Union, cars made at İzmit cross into the bloc without the tariffs that now apply to Chinese-built EVs, a detail that matters more every month as Brussels tightens trade rules on battery cars from the east.
Pleos OS, Gleo AI, and a Price Tag That Bites
The IONIQ 3 is also the first Hyundai sold in Europe to run the company's new Pleos OS infotainment system. Based on Android Automotive OS, it behaves more like a smartphone than a traditional car interface, with app support and customizable screens. Buyers choose between 12.9-inch and 14.6-inch center displays, plus an optional driver display, and the system includes Gleo AI, Hyundai's new in-car assistant.
Pricing has started to leak out ahead of the September launch. In the UK, the entry Advance trim with the 42 kWh battery is listed at £22,245 (about $30,000), while the same trim with the 61 kWh pack starts at £25,745. The range-topping N-Line Evo, also with the 61 kWh pack, is listed at £31,945. In the Netherlands, prices start at €27,995. Electrek's report carries the full trim-by-trim breakdown.
Hyundai Motor Group CEO Chung Euisun visited the İzmit plant earlier this month to inspect preparations for mass production. "We must prioritize quality from the early stages of mass production," he told employees, adding that the car must be recognized as the best in its class in Europe.
The company is positioning the IONIQ 3 directly against the small EVs from BYD and other Chinese brands that have been eating into European market share. The Renault 5, the MG4, and the incoming wave of sub-€25,000 hatchbacks all sit in the same aisle, and Hyundai's answer is a car with a longer range figure than most of them plus the backing of a local dealer network. Building it in Turkey gives Hyundai a tariff-proof route into the EU at a time when trade barriers on Chinese-built cars are rising.
What This Means for the EV Market
The IONIQ 3 launch is worth watching for three reasons. First, it shows how fast legacy automakers can convert existing plants when the pressure to cut EV prices is real. Second, it confirms that the B-segment, long dismissed as too tight-margined for battery cars, is now a battleground. Third, it gives Turkey a genuine stake in the European EV supply chain, with batteries assembled on site through the Mobis joint effort.
Hyundai has said it will keep adding markets through the rest of 2026 and into 2027, and the 30,000-unit annual run rate at İzmit looks conservative given the demand the company expects. If the IONIQ 3 hits its range and price targets, it could become the default small EV for buyers who want something bigger than an Inster but cheaper than a Kona Electric.
The September on-sale date is now the next milestone to watch, along with the first full-month sales figures across Europe. For more context on how this fits the broader shift to electric transport, see our EV coverage and the Battery Tech category. The pricing and positioning questions raised by the Smart #2 relaunch show the same battle playing out in the city-car segment, and the answer Hyundai gives in September will tell us whether the small-car aisle is about to get a lot more crowded.