Hyundai Canceled The Standard Ioniq 6 For 2026, But The Ioniq 6 N Is Still Coming To The U.S.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 has been an easy car to recommend to new car buyers, especially those who aren't stoked about giving any more money to the richest man on the planet by buying a default EV from Tesla. But the writing regarding the disappearance of the model in the U.S. has been on the wall for a while now, as the Ioniq 6 has always been a pretty low-volume model, and Hyundai had yet to announce a 2026 model year for it. First reported on by Edmunds, we're sad to confirm that the facelifted Hyundai Ioniq 6, which was revealed almost a year ago, won't be coming to the United States. Hyundai says the high-performance Ioniq 6 N will still be coming to the U.S., though, so the model won't be totally dead just yet.
It's not breaking news that most EV sales have slowed down in the wake of President Trump's decision to end the $7,500 federal tax incentive, and Hyundai only managed to sell a little over 10,000 Ioniq 6s last year compared to 12,000 the year prior. In both 2024 and 2025 the Ioniq 6 was Hyundai's worst seller that wasn't a newly introduced model or fueled by hydrogen. For context, Hyundai's second-slowest seller last year was the Santa Cruz, and it still doubled the Ioniq 6's sales numbers with 25,500 units moved.
A Hyundai spokesperson said, "Going forward, our award-winning IONIQ 6 lineup will consist of the all-new Ioniq 6 N. In the meantime, 2025 Ioniq 6 sedans continue to be available at dealers alongside our award-winning and U.S. assembled Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 9 SUVs."
Signs point to tariffs and low sales as the cause for the Ioniq 6's cancellation
I asked a Hyundai spokesperson directly why the company chose to discontinue the Ioniq 6 for the 2026 model year and received no answer, but signs point to tariffs and slow sales as the reason. The Ioniq 6 is built in South Korea and imported to the U.S., which unless you've been living under a rock, means all Ioniq 6s are impacted by Trump's second-favorite word that begins with the letter T.
Hyundai builds its Ioniq 5 compact crossover and Ioniq 9 three-row SUV in the United States, so they are less vulnerable to the President's erratic and problematic tariff declarations. They will continue on into the 2026 model year, and leave their sedan sibling behind.
Thankfully the facelifted 2026 Ioniq 6 N will be making its way to the U.S. later this year, which ought to be a hoot-and-a-half like its Ioniq 5 N stablemate. The facelift takes the front of the Ioniq 6 from slightly bulbous and bug-eyed to a sharp-browed, imposing road car, so we're happy to know that we will have a "limited quantity" of these electric lookers on our roads soon.