Hyundai & Kia Roll Out Meh Electric Vehicle News ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Credit to Author: Zachary Shahan| Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:26:56 +0000
Published on November 14th, 2019 | by Zachary Shahan
November 14th, 2019 by Zachary Shahan
There’s been a lot of electric vehicle news lately. Unfortunately, some of it doesn’t make the cut here for its own individual coverage. Hyundai and Kia have rolled out some minor electric vehicle updates that we just couldn’t get to, for example. I’ll quickly run down 3 news items.
The Hyundai Ioniq EV is a solid, if not exciting, electric vehicle offering with moderate driving range and a moderate price. If “moderation is key” was turned into a car, this might well be it. The 2020 model’s EPA-rated range is now 170 miles or 274 km (combined) — 183.8 miles (296 km) in the city, and 153.3 miles (247 km) on the highway. Clearly, this is not Tesla-level range, but the car also comes at a lower cost, especially if you consider that Hyundai buyers can still get a $7500 tax credit on their cars whereas Tesla Model 3 buyers only get $1875.
The 2020 Ioniq has more power (100 vs. 88 kW) and a bigger battery (38 vs. 28 kWh) than the 2019 Ioniq. However, that also means it has lower efficiency (one reason the Tesla Model 3 is now the most efficient car on the US market). Via PushEVs, here’s a summary of the model’s EPA efficiency ratings:
The final key changes concerned charging: the onboard slow charger increase from 6.6 kW to 7.2 kW, and an 80% fast charge rose from 23 minutes to 54 minutes.
Kia cousin Hyundai is apparently doing a bit better (maybe), with plans to launch 13 “alternatively fueled” vehicles by 2022. Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, that includes hydrogen! (When are lagging automakers going to give this false dream up? Who do they think is going to buy hydrogen cars?) Perhaps even more surprising, they are still counting conventional hybrids! Seriously. That doesn’t leave many spaces for fully electric offerings. Hyundai, I expected better from you. …
Kia has unveiled … something. It’s a concept SUV-like thing “wrapped with ‘360-degree’ theme bodywork.” I have to admit — the press release is hilarious. It looks like something you’d read in The Onion. Here are just a few snippets:
“The Kia Futuron Concept is built around a single, strong ‘360-degree’ design notable for its pure, smooth form devoid of ornament. The delicate diffusion of the body’s surfaces creates a series of taut, flowing shapes which twist, expand and contract around the body. The result is a sleek and streamlined shape, creating an aero-efficient profile. …
“The front of the Futuron features a new reinterpretation of Kia’s ‘tiger nose’ grille, a signature for Kia design now for over a decade. While maintaining the basic principle of the design – a clear outline with tabs in the middle – Kia’s designers have expanded the boundaries, widening the shape across the front of the car to create a restrained, yet elegant ‘tiger face’.
“Revealed for the first time in Shanghai, the Futuron also incorporates Chinese legend in the design and form of its new Star Cloud lighting. The Dragon Skin surface which covers the lighting area emulates the scaled armor that adorns Chinese dragons, both in mythology and modern-day cultural celebrations. The Star Cloud lighting incorporates a kinetic surface, enabling the car to alternate between daytime running lights and full-beam headlamps as the scales open and close.”
For a full read and more pics if you have the time for some futuristics, sci-fi entertainment, click the link.
Is that all the Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles news this week? I hope so.
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Zachary Shahan is tryin’ to help society help itself one word at a time. He spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as its director and chief editor. He’s also the CEO of Important Media. Zach is recognized globally as an electric vehicle, solar energy, and energy storage expert. He has presented about cleantech at conferences in India, the UAE, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, and Curaçao. Zach has long-term investments in Tesla [TSLA] — after years of covering solar and EVs, he simply has a lot of faith in this company and feels like it is a good cleantech company to invest in. But he offers no investment advice and does not recommend investing in Tesla or any other company.