Hyundai Confirms a New Electric SUV Slotting Above the IONIQ 5

Hyundai just gave EV shoppers something new to watch: a bigger electric SUV positioned a step above the IONIQ 5. During the company's 2026 CEO Investor Day, Hyundai Motor Company president and CEO José Muñoz walked through a wave of upcoming models, and one of them was a covered global D-segment SUV sitting right between the IONIQ 5 and the Santa Fe in the lineup.

No specs, no name, no pricing. But for anyone shopping a three-row-adjacent electric crossover, this is the size class that has been missing from Hyundai's EV lineup.

What Hyundai Actually Showed

The D-SUV appeared under a cover during the presentation, and Hyundai revealed nothing beyond its position in the range. It surfaced while Muñoz was explaining Hyundai's China strategy, which the company describes as "tripling down on the world's largest and most competitive market" through an "In China, for China" approach built on local partnerships, starting with the IONIQ V that launched earlier this year.

The timeline breaks down like this:

• 2027: A new B-SUV and C-SUV arrive first.
• After that ("Phase II"): The D-SUV, a D-MPV, and a D-sedan, positioned as premium NEVs and technology plays.
• Next eight months: Seven new vehicles, including the new Elantra (Avante in Korea), the IONIQ 3, a new Tucson and Tucson Hybrid, Hyundai's first-ever Santa Fe EREV, a new electric A-SUV for India, a new global B-SUV, and another B-SUV for Europe.
• Europe specifically: Five new EVs, including two B-segment SUVs, two light commercial vehicles, and the mystery D-SUV.

The Software Story Matters More Than the Sheet Metal

The D-SUV will ride on a new full-stack SDV (software-defined vehicle) platform, and that's where things get interesting for tech-minded EV owners. Hyundai plans to apply Level 2 ADAS to its first mass-produced SDV model in 2028 through a partnership with NVIDIA. Its in-house autonomous driving AI, Atria AI, starts collecting road data in Korea by the end of 2026, feeding a roadmap that eventually targets Level 2 through Level 4 capability.

Inside, the SUV gets Hyundai's next-gen Pleos Connect infotainment system. The IONIQ 3 is the first European Hyundai to ship with it. Built directly on Android Automotive OS, it behaves more like a smartphone — apps, customizable screens, and an in-car AI companion called Gleo AI.

"It's a great time to be at Hyundai," Muñoz said during the investor day presentation.

The Bigger Picture: 100 New Vehicles by 2030

Hyundai isn't easing into this. The company sold 2 million vehicles in the first half of 2026 and posted record revenue of 95.2 trillion won (roughly $69 billion), up 3% year over year. That performance pushed Hyundai Motor Group — including Kia and Genesis — to second most profitable auto group globally behind Toyota, and third in volume.

By 2030, Hyundai wants to sell 5.5 million vehicles a year, up from 4.1 million in 2025. Electrified vehicles — hybrids, full EVs, and extended-range EVs — are targeted at 60% of that mix, a huge jump from 23% in 2025. Hyundai and Genesis together plan to launch 100 new or refreshed vehicles between now and 2030: 58 in North America, 49 in South Korea, 41 in Europe, and 26 in India.

Will It Come to the US?

Nothing is confirmed, but the signals are encouraging. According to TheKoreanCarBlog, the new D-SUV is a global model — which usually means North America is in the conversation. The US is Hyundai's biggest market, and the automaker has grown faster than any other over the past decade there, selling a record 490,000 retail vehicles in the first half of this year.

The IONIQ 5 was the third-best-selling EV in the US, behind only the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. A slightly larger, higher-tech D-segment SUV at the right price could land in a genuinely underserved spot.

What This Means If You Own an EV Today

A launch this far out doesn't change your garage tomorrow, but it does reinforce a trend worth planning around: EV lineups are getting bigger, and bigger EVs mean bigger batteries, longer charge sessions, and more time spent thinking about how you power up at home and on the road.

• Home charging scales with battery size. If you're stepping up from a compact EV to a midsize SUV down the line, a Level 2 setup stops being a convenience and starts being a necessity. Getting your circuit and mounting sorted now costs the same as getting it sorted later.
• Adapters still rule road trips. Hyundai's newer EVs use the NACS port, and cross-network charging remains an adapter game. A quality CCS-to-NACS or NACS-to-CCS adapter in the trunk keeps more chargers on your map regardless of which brand you drive.
• Cargo gear matters more in a D-segment SUV. Larger crossovers get used like larger crossovers. Trunk organizers, frunk liners, and cable bags keep charging equipment from sliding around under everything else.
• Roadside safety kit is size-agnostic. Tire inflators, jump-capable power banks, and reflective triangles belong in any EV, whether it's a Model 3 or a future IONIQ-badged three-row.

For now, the D-SUV is a shape under a sheet. But Hyundai has been consistent about following through on its EV roadmap, and a model slotted above the IONIQ 5 — with SDV architecture, Android-based infotainment, and a serious ADAS plan behind it — is worth keeping on your shortlist.