The Ioniq is Hyundai's penguin-hugging answer to the Toyota Prius

We are rapidly entering the Age Of Electric. After Porsche announced last week it would bring the 600bhp Mission E to production, today it’s the rather more prosaic turn of Hyundai.

The South Korean giant has today revealed it will next year introduce the all-electric Ioniq, a five-door five-seater previewed by the decidedly shadow teaser shot above.

Like the upcoming Mission E and Tesla’s Model S, it’ll be powered by a lithium ion battery pack, though Hyundai hasn’t yet announced the Ioniq’s power output and range. Expect the first figure to be rather lower than Porsche’s effort.

However, Hyundai is keen to point out the Ioniq will be the first car to offer ‘three powertrain options in a single body type’. Because, as well as full EV flavour, it’ll also be available as a plug-in hybrid and, um, non-plug-in hybrid.

Expect both hybrids to employ the Hyundai’s familiar 1.6-litre petrol alongside that Li-ion battery pack. The Ioniq will sit on an all-new platform designed to accommodate its varied powertrains, and also set to underpin Kia’s upcoming ‘Niro’ hybrid crossover.

And it hopefully won’t be a whale to drive. Hyundai promises ‘class-leading fuel efficiency with a fun, responsive drive and attractive design – a unique mix not yet achieved by a hybrid vehicle’. The McLaren P1, LaFerrari and Porsche 918 might beg to differ. Oh, and the BMW i8.

“Ioniq is the fruit of our efforts to become the leader in the global green car market,” says Hyundai R&D boss Woong-Chul Yang. Which means Hyundai reckons it can out-eco Toyota, Tesla and the rest from more or less a standard start. Big claim.

We’ll see the production Ioniq in early January 2016. Be still your beating hearts.