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Kia announced Thursday it achieved its strongest November US sales month on record as demand for its electric vehicles pushed the automaker to new heights. Meanwhile, parent company Hyundai also surpassed its previous US November sales record with several leading EV models enticing buyers, such as the award-winning IONIQ5 and Kona EV.

After announcing plans to invest $7.4 billion to scale its US electric vehicle program in May 2021, the Hyundai Motor Group is seeing the fruit of its labor.

The Hyundai Motor Group, including Kia and Genesis, are having their best year in the US as demand for their new electric vehicles is driving record sales. Hyundai is solidifying its place in the future of the US auto industry as it rapidly executes its EV strategy, including building out its local sourcing and assembly capabilities.

In May, the South Korean automaker stated its intentions to build its first dedicated EV factor in the US. However, the Inflation Reduction Act passed in August threw a curveball in Hyundai’s blueprint.

With new incentives promoting domestic EV battery sourcing and assembly, Hyundai quickly adjusted, breaking ground on its $5.5 billion electric vehicle plant in Bryan County, Georgia, on October 25, 2022.

Despite several analysts calling for an “inevitable” drop in US demand, Hyundai and Kia continue overcoming the odds as consumers looking for zero-emission EV options are driving record sales.

Hyundai-Kia-Ev-Sales
Kia EV6 Source: Kia

Soaring EV demand pushes Hyundai and Kia to new November US sales records

Hyundai and Kia both achieved record US sales in November as demand for new EV models heats up.

Kia’s electrified model sales increased 133% in November from last year, driving total US sales 8% higher than the previous record set in 2016. Eric Watson, VP of sales operations for Kia America, doesn’t see the EV momentum slowing anytime soon, claiming:

Our electrified offerings posting double or triple-digit sales increases for the fifth consecutive month, we are confident that we will end the year strong, and this positive sales momentum will carry through to 2023.

Sales of Kia’s EV6 reached 641 in November, bringing the YTD total to 19,391.

Meanwhile, Hyundai saw demand for its electric vehicles climb as Kona EV sales grew 113% YOY, while IONIQ5 sales hit 1,191 in November for a total of 21,262 so far this year.

Hyundai’s IONIQ5 continues attracting customers from other brands looking for pure EV options. A new report from S&P Global Mobility shows the top gas cars drivers are switching from, including the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Mazda CX-5. As Hyundai and Kia ramp-up EV production in the US, we may see a new trend forming.

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Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]

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Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]

Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!

In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.

Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.

Stay tuned for more!

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Tesla sold 5,000 Cybertrucks Q2, Optimus is in chaos, plus: the Infinity Train!

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Tesla sold 5,000 Cybertrucks Q2, Optimus is in chaos, plus: the Infinity Train!

The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.


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Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries

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Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries

Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.

Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.

While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.

Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:

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All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.

Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.

Last year, Tesla announced a new project called ‘Oasis’, which consists of a new model Supercharger station with a solar farm and battery storage enabling off-grid operations in Lost Hills, California.

Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:

The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.

The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.

It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.

With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.

Electrek’s Take

This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.

Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.

The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.

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