Although Hyundai hasn’t yet announced a base price or price range for the 2022 Ioniq 5 electric vehicle, it’s already suggested that a new subscription plan will be one of the ways you can get behind the wheel of this very intriguing EV

Hyundai Motor America on Monday said that in their research they found that what it terms “mobility pioneers”—people more eager to try electric vehicles—were used to using subscription services in many parts of their life. 

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

And so according to Olabisi Boyle, Hyundai’s U.S. vice president for product planning and mobility, one intent this time around was to create a service that allows these customers to try the Ioniq 5 with a low commitment and a plan that will include insurance, charging, maintenance, and more.

This is Hyundai’s second try offering an electric car under a subscription plan. In 2017 and 2018 it offered the Ioniq Electric with an “Ioniq Unlimited” program—focused toward cost-conscious Millennials—that folded charging costs, scheduled maintenance, and even replacement costs of wear items into a single monthly payment. 

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric

That program was modeled after bundled smartphone plans and more akin to a lease (albeit with no mileage caps), with a choice between 24-month and 36-month subscription terms. Hyundai discontinued it after the 2018 model year and for 2019 focused on lower-priced leases with mileage caps and more conventional terms. 

What makes this new program different? Although Hyundai won’t detail the program until later in the year, there are already two key differences. This time, it’s intended for intervals as short as one to three months, and it’s aimed at a more affluent crowd—just those who want to try before they buy. 

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

“What we do find is when you try before you buy, and you find that it can work for you in your everyday life, you tend to now want to move towards potentially owning, so that is part of it,” said Boyle.

Not all subscribers will want to buy the car after that, of course; so Hyundai has found a way to make it work for its dealerships by cycling subscription cars into a dealer-loan program. 

Earlier this year Hyundai announced that in its home market of South Korea it is creating an “ecosystem” around an alternative ownership model for EV batteries, considering their lifespan beyond the vehicle in order to lower the end price of EVs for customers. Boyle confirmed that this “try before you buy” program isn’t related to that.