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While automakers prepare to launch their next wave of electric vehicles, Hyundai already has an EV that checks all the boxes. According to a new report, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 is the only EV on the market offering fast charging in under 20 minutes, over 350 miles range, and at an affordable starting price.

Hyundai IONIQ 6 checks all the boxes as an affordable EV

Hyundai introduced the IONIQ 6 electric sedan in South Korea in late 2022, with sales kicking off in the US in March 2023.

Based on Hyundai’s E-GMP dedicated EV platform, the same one underpinning the IONIQ 5, the IONIQ 6 offers up to 361 miles of driving range. Perhaps, more importantly, you can charge Hyundai’s electric sedan (10% to 80%) in as little as 18 minutes with 800V DC fast charging.

And you get all of this starting at an affordable starting price of as little as $38,650. With long-range capabilities, fast charging, and an affordable price tag, is the Hyundai IONIQ 6 the ultimate EV?

According to a new report from Boston Consulting Group, the Hyundai IONIQ 6 is the only EV on the market that meets potential buyers’ median price, range, and charging targets.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-affordable
(Source: Boston Consulting Group)

BCG research found that 70% of US consumers are considering buying an EV. Other than the 6% that already own one, 38% said they plan to purchase an EV as their next vehicle, and another 27% are considering one in the future.

However, the study found those holding out are looking for faster charging, more range, and lower prices.

The median requirements include 20-min charging, 30 min detour and wait times for fast-charging stations, 350 miles range, and a price of $50,000.


2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 trim
Battery
(kWh)
Estimated Range
(miles)
Starting Price
SE Standard Range RWD 53 240 $38,615
SE RWD 77.4 361 $43,656
SEL RWD 77.4 305 $46,365
Limited RWD 77.4 305 $51,265
SE Dual Motor AWD 77.4 316 $47,065
SEL Dual Motor AWD 77.4 270 $49,865
Limited Dual Motor AWD 77.4 270 $54,765
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 starting price and range

Hyundai launched the 2024 IONIQ 6 for $4,100 cheaper than last year’s model. Starting at $38,615, Hyundai’s IONIQ 6 checks all the boxes as an affordable, long-range, fast-charging EV.

To make it even more attractive, Hyundai is offering a $7,500 cash offer on all trims, bringing prices down to potentially just over $30,000.

Hyundai-IONIQ-6-affordable
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Source: Hyundai)

Tesla’s Model 3 was the next closest model to hitting the threshold. The 2024 Tesla Model 3 starts at $38,990 with up to 272 miles range. For the Long Range model, prices start at $47,740, with up to 341 miles range.

The race for lower-cost electric cars

Automakers are rushing to introduce new low-cost EVs. Ford is shifting from large EVs, like the F-150 Lightning, to smaller, more affordable models.

According to a new Bloomberg Businessweek report, Ford plans to launch a new low-cost EV platform. The platform will underpin a next-gen smaller electric pickup and SUV with starting prices around $25,000. Meanwhile, the American automaker is putting plans for a larger three-row electric SUV on hold.

Ford-affordable-EV-pickup
2024 Ford F-150 Flash (Source: Ford)

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley explained at a Wolfe Research conference last month that if you cannot keep up with Chinese EV makers, “20% to 30% of your revenue is at risk.”

Farley explained, “As the CEO of a company that had trouble competing with the Japanese and the South Koreans, we have to fix this problem.”

Ford put together a “skunk works team” to develop it with “some of the best EV engineers in the world.” That team is led by Alan Clarke, who led the engineering of the Tesla Model Y.

US-EV-registrations-2023
New Tesla Model 3 (Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.)

Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader is gearing up to launch its next-gen electric car, a $25,000 vehicle.

Although initial plans called for Tesla’s next-gen EV to be built at Gigafactory Mexico, CEO Elon Musk confirmed it will be built in Texas.

Musk said the model was “advanced” in its development in December. Tesla’s CEO said he reviews the production line plans “every week.”

Rivian-R2
Rivian R2 (Source: Rivian)

Rivian recently unveiled its cheaper R2, starting at $45,000 with at least 300 miles range across all trims. It’s due to enter production in the first half of 2026. The EV startup also introduced the R3, an even smaller and more affordable model that will follow.

Hyundai’s sister company, Kia, is launching a lineup of affordable EVs with starting prices between $30,000 and $50,000.

Kia-affordable-EVs
Kia EV lineup from left to right: EV6, EV4, EV5, EV3, EV9 (Source: Kia)

Kia is expected to launch its entry-level EV3 by the end of the year, starting at around $30,000. It will be followed by the Kia EV4 next year, with prices expected to be around $35,000.

The Korean automaker already launched the compact EV5 electric SUV in China with a low starting price of $20,000 (149,800 yuan).

What do you think? Does the Hyundai IONIQ 6 check all the boxes? Let us know in the comments.

If you want to see what Hyundai’s affordable IONIQ 6 has to offer, we can help you get started today. You can use our link to find great deals on the 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 at a dealer near you.

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Amazon, Google and Meta support tripling nuclear power by 2050

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Amazon, Google and Meta support tripling nuclear power by 2050

Google, Meta, and Amazon join forces to boost nuclear energy by 2050

HOUSTON — Amazon, Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms on Wednesday said they support efforts to at least triple nuclear energy worldwide by 2050.

The tech companies signed a pledge first adopted in December 2023 by more than 20 countries, including the U.S., at the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Financial institutions including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley backed the pledge last year.

The pledge is nonbinding, but highlights the growing support for expanding nuclear power among leading industries, finance and governments.

Amazon, Google and Meta are increasingly important drivers of energy demand in the U.S. as they build out artificial intelligence centers. The tech sector is turning to nuclear power after concluding that renewables alone won’t provide enough reliable power for their energy needs.

Amazon and Google announced investments last October to help launch small nuclear reactors, technology still under development that the industry hopes will reduce the cost and timelines that have plagued new reactor builds in the U.S.

Meta issued a call in December for nuclear developers to submit proposals to help the tech company add up to four gigawatts of new nuclear in the U.S.

The pledge signed Wednesday was led by the World Nuclear Association on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston.

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French industrial giant Schneider Electric hails the significance of China’s ‘DeepSeek moment’

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French industrial giant Schneider Electric hails the significance of China’s ‘DeepSeek moment'

Schneider Electric chairman says China’s DeepSeek breakthrough is ‘very good’ news

China’s so-called “DeepSeek moment” is likely to be good news in the global race to develop artificial intelligence models that can carry out more complex tasks, according to Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman of French power-equipment maker Schneider Electric.

“I actually think its good news. We need AI at every level,” Tricoire told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick at CONVERGE LIVE in Singapore on Wednesday.

“We need AI to optimize your whole enterprise at all levels, so that you can buy better, consume better, decide better, source better. To do all of this, we need models to operate on a smaller scale,” he added.

Tricoire said the emergence of Chinese AI app DeepSeek showed that AI models can achieve the same results as some of its more established U.S. rivals, but with a much smaller model.

It “will actually spread AI at all levels of the architecture much faster,” Tricoire said. He added that DeepSeek’s blockbuster R1 model would be “fantastic” for improving safety and reliability when deploying AI on dangerous equipment.

“The spread of AI models at every level of what we need is actually very good news,” Tricoire said.

His comments come shortly after Schneider Electric reported record sales and profits in 2024.

The company, which has been a big beneficiary of the artificial intelligence trend, raised its 2025 profit margin following robust fourth-quarter demand for data centers.

Shares of Schneider Electric rose 33% in 2024, following a 39% upswing in 2023. The Paris-listed stock is down around 7% year to date, however, with China’s recent AI push sparking concerns about AI investment and tech sector returns.

Data centers, which consume an ever-increasing amount of energy, represent a key piece of infrastructure behind modern-day cloud computing and AI applications.

— CNBC’s Ganesh Rao contributed to this report.

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Ailing Swedish EV battery firm Northvolt files for bankruptcy

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Ailing Swedish EV battery firm Northvolt files for bankruptcy

A Northvolt building in Sweden, photographed in February 2022.

Mikael Sjoberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Struggling electric vehicle battery manufacturer Northvolt on Wednesday said it has filed for bankruptcy in Sweden.

The firm said it that it submitted the insolvency filing after an “exhaustive effort to explore all available means to secure a viable financial and operational future for the company.”

“Like many companies in the battery sector, Northvolt has experienced a series of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial position, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability, subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand,” Northvolt noted.

“Further to this backdrop, the company has faced significant internal challenges in its ramp-up of production, both in ways that were expected by engagement in what is a highly complex industry, and others which were unforeseen.”

Northvolt’s collapse into insolvency deals a major blow to Europe’s ambition to become self-sufficient and build out its own EV battery supply chain to catch up to China, which leads as the world’s largest market for electric vehicles by a wide margin.

The Swedish battery firm had been seeking financial support to continue its operations amid an ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring process in the United States, which it kicked off in November.

“Despite liquidity support from our lenders and key counterparties, the company was unable to secure the necessary financial conditions to continue in its current form,” Northvolt said Wednesday.

Northvolt said a Swedish court-appointed trustee will oversee the company’s bankruptcy process, including the sale of the business and its assets and settlement of outstanding obligations.

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