Hyundai has increased prices for its smallest and cheapest electric vehicle (EV) after rising demand across its electric vehicle range.
The Hyundai Inster small, four-seat electric hatch – officially classed as a light SUV – was launched in Australia in April 2025 with a starting price of $39,000 plus on-road costs, before the entry-level 42kWh version was offered in the Standard Range from $39,990 one-way and then $35,990 one-way, the latter offering a saving of $35,990 one-way for Victorian buyers That meant $6,125.
Since then, several newly launched electric car rivals have undercut that price, including the BYD Atto 1 light hatch (from $23,990 before on-roads) and the BYD Atto 2 small SUV (from $31,990 plus ORCs).
Well, according to a bulletin to Victorian traders obtained by Daily SparkzHyundai has increased the base price for the Inster drive-to-drive by $3,000 to $38,990 drive-to, meaning a more modest bonus of $3,046 for customers in the southern state.
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Manufacturers’ List Prices (MLPs, excluding on-road costs) remain unchanged for the entire Inster range, including the 49kWh Extended Range variant ($42,500 plus ORCs) and the 49kWh Inster Cross ($45,000 plus ORCs), for which no drive-away pricing was offered.
For private and business customers of vehicles built from April 1st and delivered before June 30th, 2026, the Inster’s higher base drive-away price applies, which does not come with any technical upgrades.
Hyundai’s move to increase the starting price of the Inster follows a dramatic rise in demand for electric vehicles in Australia – including Hyundais – amid rising fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.
A Hyundai Australia spokesperson said Daily Sparkz The removal of “incentive support” for the entry-level Inster model follows higher-than-expected demand that has exhausted existing stocks.
“Due to the recent increase in demand for electric vehicles, we sold off this old inventory faster than expected,” he said.
“To provide clarity to customers, all new factory orders will be available on-car for $38,990, which is still a significant savings for our customers.”
In its 12 months on sale in Australia, the Inster has recorded 677 sales – 467 since April 2025 and 210 so far in 2026, including 122 in March.
Hyundai Australia said orders for its electric vehicles – including the Inster, small SUV Kona Electric, Ioniq 5 and new mid-size SUVs Elexio, large SUV Ioniq 9 and sedan Ioniq 6 – rose 355 per cent last month, from 228 in February to 1037 in March.
Electric vehicles now account for 20 per cent of all Hyundai orders, compared to less than three per cent before March 2026, and the increase in EV demand has led Hyundai Australia to secure more stock for its dealers to ensure short or no wait times for customers.
“We are targeting a 70 per cent increase in electric vehicle orders for the second quarter (April-June) compared to the first quarter (January-March),” Hyundai Motor Company Australia sales director David Rodda said in a statement last week.
Hyundai says it has secured a 158 percent increase in electric vehicle offerings for the second quarter, including 1,265 Kona Electric vehicles (up 315 percent compared to the first quarter), 1,180 Elexios (up 57 percent), 255 Inster (up 204 percent) and 150 Ioniq 5 (up 56 percent).
“We are confident that we will receive equally strong support from the factory for the rest of the year,” Mr Rodda said.
Hyundai also offers an extensive hybrid range and saw a 30 percent increase in hybrid vehicle orders from February to March, with 57 percent of March orders being hybrid vehicles, which it said was the highest proportion to date.
More broadly, electric vehicle deliveries in Australia rose 88.9 per cent year-on-year in March, when they reached a record 14.6 per cent market share.
Last month, record petrol prices outpaced sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles in Australia than petrol cars for the first time. The Tesla Model Y remained the country’s best-selling electric vehicle but became the third most popular model overall.
Notably, hybrid and electric vehicle brand BYD overtook Hyundai to reach its highest ever ranking of third in March, behind Toyota and second-place Kia, after finishing sixth behind Hyundai in February.
BYD tripled its usual vehicle deliveries to Australia with an order of 30,000 units to keep up with increasing demand by the end of June 2026.
The Kona Electric was Hyundai’s best-selling electric vehicle in the first three months of this year with 366 sales, including 236 in March alone, although it still lags behind the 563 examples sold at the same point in 2025.
Hyundai will further expand its electric vehicle offering in early 2027 with the all-new Ioniq 3, a small electric hatch designed to rival the MG 4.
The Korean brand’s smallest Ioniq-badged model to date is based on a 400-volt version of the E-GMP architecture used by the larger Ioniq 5, similar to the slightly larger Kia EV3, and is built in Türkiye.
“Our existing electric vehicle range already covers 85 percent of the market and with the launch of the Staria Commercial Van later this year and the Ioniq 3 Hatch early next year, we expect to achieve a total EV market coverage of 96 percent,” Rodda said.
| Model | Price before on-road costs | One-way fare |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 Hyundai Inster 42 kWh standard range | $39,000 | $38,990 |
| 2026 Hyundai Inster 49kW extended range | $42,500 | |
| 2026 Hyundai Inster Cross 49kW | $45,000 |
MORE: Explore the Hyundai Inster showroom
