Hyundai became a shareholder of IONITY in 2017 when the club already had several members. It is smarter to bet on a high-power electric car recharging network (up to 350-400 kW) that already exists -and is growing- than to set up one on your own. In addition, electric car customers must be sold certain facilities, such as being able to travel far with reasonable stopping times.
IONITY is open to anyone who pays the fee. For the general public, there are two options. Sporadic users pay -in Spain- the kWh at 0.79 euros and the usual 17.99 euros per month, but with the kWh at almost half, 0.35 euros. The first plan is called IONITY Direct and the second IONITY Passport.
Brands like Hyundai can make a more personalized offer to their customers, bearing part of the costs on their own. It offers two recharge plans for this network, IONITY Premium and IONITY Lite, the latter being new this week. Like the Passport, the fee is paid for 12 months, not individual months. At the end of the day, you pay for the availability of a service, not just for energy.
Hyundai makes recharging as easy as possible at a European level with a mobile application (Android and iOS) and a user card
Hyundai electric vehicle users, both pure electric and plug-in hybrid, have a pan-European charging service called Charge myHyundai. Simplifying a lot, with a single account and a single means of payment, you have access to more than 200,000 charging points in Europe. Without complications, without more accounts, without more cards, and without more stories (the opposite usually makes even the saints lose patience).
Everything is done with a mobile application or a physical card with an RFID system. The Flex rate is free month to month, but they have “call establishment”, 0.49 euros for both AC/CA and DC/DC recharges, plus the kWh that are recharged at a variable price. Users of the Easy tariff, in exchange for 6.99 euros per month, do not have the “call establishment” and pay 0.28 euros per kWh in AC/CA and 0.37 euros in DC/DC. If you recharge very little at public points, the first one is on the account.
And what about IONITY? From May 2021, Hyundai customers can opt for the special IONITY Premium rate, which costs from 13 euros and leaves the kWh up to 0.27 euros. Those who purchased an IONIQ 5 Project 45 -the first limited edition- are entitled to two years of use of this rate at no cost. All other IONIQ 5 customers get one year of this service for free.
| Rate | monthly fee | Price per kWh |
|---|---|---|
| IONITY Premium + Hyundai Flex | €13 (*) | €0.27 |
| IONITY Lite + Hyundai Flex | €4.5 | €0.52 |
| IONITY Direct (general) | €0 | €0.79 |
| IONITY Passport (general) | €17.99 | €0.35 |
Hyundai IONITY Rates vs. General Rates
Of course, you must register on the Charge myHyundai website, and the cost of recharging is not included. Both one and the other package are additional to the two Hyundai recharge rate systems, Flex and Easy. Therefore, 6.99 euros must be added to the IONITY fees in the case of the Easy plan. Without being Charge myHyundai users, access to IONITY is like any neighbor’s child.
To see if it is worth it or not, we must analyze our travel habits and recharges. A driver who does not usually leave his city and surroundings always recharges at home and where they give him electricity and goes to the beach twice a year, is not the same as someone who often makes interprovincial trips and wants to be stopped as little as possible. time as possible.
Can you live without IONITY? Yes, of course, as long as recharging in AC/CA up to 22 kW, or in DC/CC up to 50 kW, is not acceptable on long trips. What’s more, electric Hyundais that can’t recharge at higher power doesn’t have any advantage with IONITY beyond having higher availability. And that on some days of the year can be very important…
| IONIQ Version 5 | Approved consumption | Rate | Price per 100km |
|---|---|---|---|
| IONIQ 5 58 kWh RWD | 16.7kWh/100km | IONITY Premium | €4.51 |
| IONITY Lite | €8.68 | ||
| IONITY Direct | €13.19 | ||
| IONITY Passport | €5.85 | ||
| IONIQ 5 72.6 kWh 20” AWD | 19kWh/100km | IONITY Premium | €5.13 |
| IONITY Lite | €9.88 | ||
| IONITY Direct | €15.01 | ||
| IONITY Passport | €6.65 |
Cost comparison of traveling 100 kilometers with an IONIQ 5, excluding monthly fees
It’s time to take the calculator
We have taken the approved consumption (WLTP) of the IONIQ 5 in the most favorable and the most unfavorable case, and we have multiplied them by the price of the recharges based on the rate. To begin with, it is very difficult to justify the use of IONITY outside of the manufacturer, the prices can practically triple.
For example, the driver of an IONIQ 5 72.6 kWh with 20” wheels and all-wheel drive has to spend 5.13 euros at an IONITY charging point if he enjoys the Premium rate, or 15.01 if he does not have any monthly fee with the provider, and this for doing 100 kilometers. Whether or not it is worthwhile will depend fundamentally on the use that is going to be made of the network, whether it is going to be sporadic or habitual.
An IONIQ 5 user who does -let’s say- 22 kilometers a day will not have to recharge in 21 days, except on occasional trips, it will doubtfully be worth paying a monthly fee to have the IONITY chargers with the kWh reduced. But for someone who drives 2,000 kilometers per month, which is already 24,000 per year, Hyundai’s Easy rate (at 0 euros) is beginning to be worth it and complement it with the IONITY Lite package; 4.5 euros per month fee.
If you recharge a lot with high power, then the Premium package can be even more interesting. On the other hand, if you are pulling more AC/AC or DC/DC chargers of lower power, such as 50 kW, then the Premium quota does not make much sense. Let’s keep in mind that IONITY charges for the availability of the fastest charging points on the market in Europe today.
The four combinations are possible: Flex + IONITY Lite (4.5 euros/month), Flex + IONITY Premium (13 euros/month), Easy + IONITY Lite (11.49 euros/month) and Easy + IONITY Premium (19, €99/month). For someone who uses IONITY a lot and wastes little on other types of chargers, there is no advantage to subscribing to the Easy plan. The IONITY Passport fare never pays, but the 0 monthly fee does if it is going to be used very little, either combined with Hyundai’s Flex or Easy rates.
Mind you, the one or two-year Premium Plan offers for IONIQ 5 customers aren’t going to last a lifetime. You have to sign up for Charge myHyundai by June 30 this year, or you’ll have missed out. It is well worth enjoying those months of subsidized Premium fee, but you have to choose either the Easy or the Flex with Hyundai. All that said, paper, pen, and calculator, or hit the spreadsheet.
