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I won’t lie: We don’t know a lot about the Kia EV3 Concept from a technical perspective. Like, basically anything. We don’t have battery capacity, range, power output, or even dimensions. It’s a compact crossover based on the E-GMP platform that slots in roughly where the Kia Seltos does at the moment, which should give you a sense of what kind of size class we’re talking about here. Kia announced the EV3 Concept at its EV Day event in Korea.

The EV3 Concept does apparently support V2L (vehicle-to-load) tech and has a dedicated space in the trunk for charging a small e-bike or electric scooter — and that’s certainly cool. Again, no detailed specs there: Kia just wants you to know they’re thinking about it. In fact, there aren’t even any photos of it.

But have you ever heard of a center console table from mushroom roots? Well, if you’ve heard of mycelium materials, maybe this doesn’t sound too strange, but it sure makes for a head-turner of a statement when you can say your concept car has a fungus-derived console. There’s effectively no chance this makes it into production, and Kia certainly isn’t suggesting it will. Mycelium is a potential material of the future, one of doubtless many that Kia and other automakers are exploring.

EV3 Concept mycelium mushroom center console table

But the EV3 Concept itself seems quite fully realized — the design is a clear callback to the EV9 and EV5, and it would certainly make sense for Kia to offer an electric compact CUV; the things practically sell themselves.

There’s no word if the EV3 Concept will eventually make it to the US when the production version is announced, but based on Kia’s trepidation to launch the EV5 in the US, it seems far from certain. Additionally, Kia isn’t talking about battery architecture. The EV5 was announced as the brand’s first 400-volt architecture car on the E-GMP platform, and given the EV3 would slot in below that car, it’s hard to imagine it would go 800-volt when its larger (and presumably pricier) stablemate is using 400-volt.

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Hyundai launches new EV grant program offering up to $5,000 in savings

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Hyundai launches new EV grant program offering up to ,000 in savings

Hyundai is the latest carmaker offering significant discounts on electric vehicles in the UK. The Hyundai Electric Grant program offers up to £3,750 ($5,000) off popular EVs, including the Inster EV, IONIQ 5, and new IONIQ 9. And it’s not just the UK, Hyundai is launching deals in nearly every market.

Hyundai launches new EV grant program in the UK

Starting today, July 25, all Hyundai electric vehicles in the UK are eligible for the program. Hyundai’s EV grant offers buyers £3,750 ($5,000) off the 2025 Inster, the brand’s new entry-level electric SUV.

The savings are available across Hyundai’s entire EV lineup, with £1,500 ($2,000) in savings on the IONIQ 5, Kona Electric, and IONIQ 9.

“As the electric vehicle landscape continues to evolve, it is important that customers have complete clarity, choice and compelling value when making the switch to electric,” Ashley Andrew, president of Hyundai and Genesis UK, said on Friday.

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After launching the Inster EV and its flagship IONIQ 9 this year, Hyundai now offers a complete lineup ranging from entry-level to a three-row electric SUV.

The EV grant is available immediately across Hyundai’s UK dealer network, including for retail, Hyundai Affinity, or Contract Hire purchases.

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Hyundai Inster EV (Source: Hyundai UK)

Until August 31, buyers can score an extra £500 ($671) off the Inster EV and Kona Electric through Hyundai’s Electrifying Summer promo.

Hyundai is also offering 24-hour test drives, allowing customers to try it before making a purchase. The Korean automaker follows other brands, including MG and Leapmotor, to offer discounts ahead of the UK’s new EV grant program.

Hyundai-EV-grant
Hyundai Kona Electric N Line (Source: Hyundai)

According to new registration data from Jato, Hyundai was the 10th best-selling EV brand in Europe in the first half of 2025.

The Inster EV, priced from £23,505 ($31,500), cracked the top 20 most registered EVs last month with over 3,300 units sold. Hyundai Motor, including Kia’s share of the EV market, rose from 12.6% to 19.1% in H1 2025.

Hyundai is offering significant savings on electric vehicles not just in the UK, but essentially in every market, including the US, right now.

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2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)

Following the launch of an aggressive sales promotion this summer, Hyundai is now offering 0% interest for 60 months on its top-selling SUVs. The savings are available on new EV models, including the 2025 IONIQ 5 and 2026 IONIQ 9 (see our review of it).

Hyundai-EV-grant
2026 Hyundai IONIQ 9 (Source: Hyundai)

The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5, which now offers up to 318 miles of range and a NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers, is listed for lease at just $179 per month. That’s about the lowest national offer for an electric SUV currently available.

Both the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 are built at Hyundai’s new EV plant in Georgia, so they still qualify for the $7,500 US tax credit. However, that’s set to end at the end of September.

Ready to try one out for yourself? You can use our links below to find offers on Hyundai’s electric vehicles in your area.

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Tesla is about to launch ‘Robotaxi’ in Bay Area, but with someone in the driver’s seat

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Tesla is about to launch 'Robotaxi' in Bay Area, but with someone in the driver's seat

Tesla is stripping all meaning from the word “Robotaxi” as it plans to expand its supposedly autonomous ride-hailing program to the Bay Area as soon as this weekend, albeit with a driver in the driver’s seat.

As we have often highlighted over the last few months, Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ launch is purely about optics.

Tesla is not yet ready to launch a level 4 autonomous driving system, but Elon Musk needs Tesla to achieve a win in self-driving after years of failed promises.

They decided to launch “Robotaxi”, a ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, but due to the automaker not being ready to deploy level 4 autonomy, it had to add a safety monitor in the passenger front seat at all times.

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That passenger has access to controls capable of stopping the vehicle at all times, which is similar to how Tesla’s consumer version of ‘Supervised Full Self-Driving’ works. In short, it’s basically ‘Tesla Supervised Full Self-Driving’, but with the supervisor moving from the driver’s seat to the front passenger’s seat.

Those supervisors have already had dozens of interventions over just 7,000 miles in Austin over the last month.

Now, Tesla is looking to launch its ‘Robotaxi’ in the Bay Area. Rumors are that it could be as soon as this weekend.

However, during Tesla’s earnings call this week, Tesla’s head of self-driving, Ashok Elluswamy, confirmed that it will be with “a person in the driver’s seat”:

“The next is the San Francisco Bay Area. We are working with the government to get approval here, and meanwhile, we will launch the service with a person in the driver’s seat just to expedite while we wait for regulatory approval.”

The Tesla executive claims that Tesla is “waiting for regulatory approval”, but last we heard, Tesla has yet to apply for the proper permits to commercially operate autonomous vehicles in California.

Electrek’s Take

To be clear, this is no different than an Uber driver who owns a Tesla with FSD picking you up at the airport. Tesla is looking to launch an Uber service in the Bay Area with employees at the wheel who use FSD, and it is going to call it ‘Robotaxi’.

It’s no more than a distraction from the fact that Tesla can’t deliver a level 4 autonomous driving system.

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Nexamp found a faster way to build solar – it did the utility’s job, too

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Nexamp found a faster way to build solar – it did the utility's job, too

Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.

That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.

Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.

The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:

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  • Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
  • Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
  • Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree

Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.

“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”

It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.

That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.

Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”

Read more: Walmart and Nexamp are rolling out 31 solar farms in 5 states


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