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As rivals including Ford and GM pull back, Hyundai is surging ahead in the US electric vehicle market. Hyundai’s US CEO, Randy Parker, is calling out the competition as the brand goes “all in” on EVs.

Hyundai goes “all in” on EVs as rivals pull back

“Why would anybody want to purchase an EV from an [automaker] who’s lobbying against EVs?” Parker told The Electric.

After selling nearly 40,000 EVs in the US last year, Hyundai Motor Group (including Kia and Genesis) surpassed Ford and General Motors to become the second-best-selling EV brand behind only Tesla.

Meanwhile, American automakers and several others are pulling back on EV plans, citing “slower than expected demand.” Not for Hyundai, however.

“If a person is thinking about buying an EV, I think you want to go to a company who is fully committed to selling EVs in the United States,” Parker explained. These are bold words as the company doubles down on electric cars.

While rivals are delaying EV launches and cutting billions from electric vehicle spending, Hyundai’s US boss says the company is still “all in” on EVs.

Hyundai-all-in-EVs
Hyundai IONIQ 5 (left) and IONIQ 6 (right) at Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai offers three of the most affordable electric cars in the US: the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and Kona Electric. The IONIQ 5 was the sixth best-selling EV in the US last year, with nearly 34,000 models sold. It also just set a new March sales record, pushing EV sales up 100% last month.

Beating out the competition

The upgraded 2024 Hyundai Kona is better in every way, with more range, faster charging, and a sleek new design. It’s also one of the cheapest EVs you can buy, starting under $33,000.

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2024 Hyundai Kona EV (Source: Hyundai)

As one of the cheapest cars to lease in the US (gas or EV), Hyundai’s IONIQ 6 is seeing higher demand. US IONIQ 6 sales are up 794% through the first three months of 2024.

A recent study from Boston Consulting Group found that Hyundai’s IONIQ 6 was the only EV that met potential buyers’ range, charging, and price targets. Tesla’s Model 3 was the next closest.

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

Hyundai looks to accelerate its momentum after fast-tracking construction at its first EV and battery plant in the US. The state of Georgia dedicated February 26, 2024, to the automaker, calling it “Hyundai Day,” as the automaker invests billions while creating thousands of jobs.

Although initial plans called for production to begin next year, Hyundai now expects to begin building EVs in the fourth quarter to qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit.

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2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 SE (Source: Hyundai)

Hyundai is investing nearly $7.6 billion, directly creating 8,500 jobs. Its $5 billion battery plant with SK will establish another 3,500 positions. And that’s not including the suppliers the company has brought along with it.

According to the Center for Automotive Research, Hyundai’s investments totaled over $12.6 billion while creating 50,000 new jobs in the area.

Electrek’s Take

Hyundai is already gaining market share in the US after topping Ford and GM in EV sales last year (with Kia and Genesis).

With its vehicles expected to qualify for the $7,500 tax credit, the automaker looks to take advantage of rivals pulling back.

While Ford and GM work to lower EV costs with new battery tech, Hyundai is already offering affordable electric cars on its E-GMP platform. Hyundai is expected to reveal its first three-row electric SUV, the IONIQ 9, later this year as it expands into new segments.

Meanwhile, Ford announced it’s delaying the launch of its three-row electric SUV as it waits for the market to develop.

This could create another opportunity for Hyundai to steal market share in the US. In fact, three-row electric SUVs are already in demand. Rivian’s R1S was the seventh best-selling EV last year, behind the IONIQ 5.

After kicking off sales late last year, Kia has sold over 4,000 units of its three-row EV9 electric SUV.

Hyundai is taking advantage of arguably the auto industry’s most significant transition while staying laser-focused on the future. The company aims to be one of the top three EV makers globally by 2030. By doubling down and going “all in” on EVs, Hyundai is positioning itself to outpace the competition.

Hyundai Motor is now the fourth largest automaker in the US, behind GM, Ford, and Toyota, with EV sales surging.

Do you think Hyundai can be one of the top three EV producers by 2030? Let us know in the comments.

If you’re in the market for a new EV, now is one of the best times to buy, with some of the lowest prices available. We can help you find the right model for you at the price you are looking for. You can use our links below to find deals on Hyundai’s EVs at a dealer near you.

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Tesla Supercharger live availability is now in Google Maps

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Tesla Supercharger live availability is now in Google Maps

Tesla’s Supercharger network — already the most reliable fast-charging network in the world — just became a little easier to use. Google Maps now displays live availability data for Tesla Superchargers, showing how many stalls are currently available at each location.

The new integration means users can now see real-time charger status directly inside Google Maps, similar to what Tesla owners have long seen inside their vehicles or in the Tesla app.

When searching for a Supercharger, Maps now lists the total number of stalls and how many are available at that moment. It’s the same information Tesla provides through its own navigation system, but now visible to anyone using Google Maps — Tesla owner or not.

Latest step in opening up Tesla’s Supercharger network

This might look like a small change, but it’s another sign that Tesla is steadily opening up parts of its once-exclusive charging ecosystem.

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The company has already begun integrating non-Tesla EVs into its Supercharger network across North America – first through the short-lived Magic Dock and then through the NACS rollout.

While this update is not particularly useful for Tesla owners, who already have this data in the in-vehicle navigation or the app, making real-time charger data available on Google Maps makes perfect sense for non-Tesla EV owners.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla has always led when it comes to charging reliability at Supercharger stations – hence why opening up the network to non-Tesla EV owners in North America over the last 2 years has been such a big deal.

But next to having non-functioning chargers, there’s nothing worse than showing up at a charging station and it is fully used.

Now, if EV owners are planning their trips through Google Maps, they will be able to avoid that more easily.

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‘Godfathers of wind’ raise alarm as Trump urges countries to abandon climate fight

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'Godfathers of wind' raise alarm as Trump urges countries to abandon climate fight

US President Donald Trump (L), backdropped by Turbines at the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, also known as the Aberdeen Bay Wind Farm, walks on the first fairway after playing off the first tee to officially open the Trump International Golf Links course in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, north east Scotland on July 29, 2025.

Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images

Two European pioneers of the modern wind power industry are sounding the alarm on the Trump administration’s clean energy cutbacks, warning Washington’s anti-climate agenda is part of a broader energy transition challenge.

Denmark’s Henrik Stiesdal and Britain’s Andrew Garrad, often referred to as the “Godfathers of wind” for their contributions in advancing the design, manufacture and deployment of wind turbines, said Trump’s war on wind appears to be a symptom of more widespread climate apathy.

Stiesdal is known for framing the early design principles for wind turbines and led the installation of the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, while Garrad developed computer models to optimize and certify turbine and farm designs.

“I think Trump’s approach is symptomatic of a general shift,” Garrad said, in comments echoed by Stiesdal, one that is opposed to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable technologies, such as wind and solar.

“We are facing right now, a change of mood. We had a very easy beginning, then quite a big struggle, then general acceptance, and now the worm is turning. And that’s something which we all have to address,” Garrad told CNBC.

Since returning to office at the start of the year, U.S. President Donald Trump has actively sought to disrupt the development of high-profile wind projects. His push to wipe out the offshore wind industry has included stop-work orders and the removal of green incentives under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

“Trump is symptomatic. I mean an extreme symptom of that, but you can see it I think in all Western countries certainly, perhaps not elsewhere. And that’s a big issue,” Garrad said.

“This isn’t just a wind energy problem,” Garrad said. “To do this sort of change is a very dangerous thing. And I think it has shown that this is a political business … It’s a personal decision by a politician, who happens to be a rather powerful one — and it has sent shockwaves around the place.”

‘Pathetic’ and ‘expensive’

Trump’s onslaught against the wind industry has hit the business models of renewable energy giants particularly hard. Denmark’s Ortsed, the world’s biggest offshore wind farm group, is one notable example.

Last week, Orsted reported a net loss of 1.7 billion Danish kroner ($261.8 million) for the July-September period. The result, which was slightly better than analysts feared, was significantly down from profit of 5.17 billion Danish kroner in the same period last year.

Shares of the Copenhagen-listed company, which have fallen more than 80% from a 2021 peak, notched a fresh record low in August after the Trump administration ordered the company to halt work on a near complete windfarm.

A turbine blade is lifted onto a rack near tower sections at the Revolution Wind project assembly site at State Pier in New London, Connecticut, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Danish wind turbine firm Vestas has also been battling industry uncertainty, in part because of the Trump administration’s policies. When asked about some of these challenges, Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said the company has a “well-established” supply chain in the U.S.

“For us, we see the U.S., both customers and the buildout in the U.S., as some of our core responsibility to help the U.S. with,” Andersen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Nov. 5.

“Then sometimes maybe we have to get a bit of a slap that it is not everyone that likes the nature of a wind turbine. But I think, in general, … energy drives decision making and [the] cost of energy drives decision making,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 23, 2025 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Trump has repeatedly criticized the deployment of offshore wind turbines, describing them as “pathetic” and “expensive” in a recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

“I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from the green energy scam, your country is going to fail,” Trump said on Sept. 23. The U.S. president also said climate change is the “greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”

Scientists have since condemned Trump’s characterization of climate change, pointing out that the overwhelming consensus is that climate change is already happening, with record-breaking heatwaves, flood events and hurricanes causing substantial economic damages across the globe.

Energy security

Stiesdal, who refused to comment specifically on Trump’s war on wind, said there appears to be “a fundamental misunderstanding” from those firmly opposed to the energy transition.

“A lot of people who would be inclined to vote for hard-right parties actually benefit both from the job offerings and the cost of their energy from renewables,” Stiesdal said.

“It’s not an easy thing to fight because a lot of it is kind of visceral or fundamental in the thinking about this tribal approach,” he continued. “Whenever I am confronted with that, or with discussions about that, I try to emphasize energy security, the job creation, the local beneficial effects of doing renewables and the assurances you get in society.”

King Charles III (centre) poses for a group photo after presenting the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering to Andrew Garrad C.B.E. (left) and Henrik Stiesdal for their achievements in advancing the design, manufacture and deployment of modern wind power technology, during a reception for the 2025 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, at St James’ Palace November 5, 2025 in London, England.

Getty Images | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Stiesdal and Garrad were speaking to CNBC shortly before being presented with the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering. The prize was presented by King Charles III during a reception at St. James’s Palace in London earlier this month.

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IEA: Renewables and AI are rapidly transforming the world’s energy future

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IEA: Renewables and AI are rapidly transforming the world’s energy future

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says renewables and AI are reshaping the world’s energy future, and that transformation is happening faster than anyone expected. In its new “World Energy Outlook 2025,” the IEA warns that energy security risks now stretch far beyond oil and gas. Critical minerals essential to clean tech, defense, and AI have become the new fault lines in global supply chains. The IEA also states that energy has become a central focus of geopolitical power struggles, making it one of the defining economic and security challenges of our time.

A more complex, electrified future

The IEA’s annual “World Energy Outlook” explores three possible scenarios for the future, emphasizing that none are predictions. Instead, they’re roadmaps that show what could happen depending on the choices governments and industries make on policy, technology, and investment.

Across every scenario, one theme stands out: electricity demand is surging faster than for any other form of energy. Electricity currently accounts for only about 20% of global energy use, yet it powers more than 40% of the global economy. Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said the trend is accelerating: “Last year, we said the world was moving quickly into the Age of Electricity – and it’s clear today that it has already arrived.”

Driving that growth are data centers, AI, and electrification across transportation, heating, and manufacturing. Global data center investment alone is expected to hit $580 billion in 2025 – even higher than the $540 billion the world will spend on oil supply.

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Shifting global energy dynamics

Emerging economies, led by India and Southeast Asia, are now shaping energy markets that were once dominated by China. These regions are experiencing a rapid increase in demand for power, mobility, and industrial energy use. By 2035, 80% of global energy consumption growth is expected to come from countries with high solar potential.

At the same time, the IEA warns that grid expansion and storage aren’t keeping up with this growth. While investments in power generation have jumped nearly 70% since 2015, spending on transmission and distribution has risen at less than half that pace. The agency calls for urgent grid upgrades and stronger government coordination to prevent future electricity bottlenecks.

Renewables and nuclear on the rise

Solar leads the charge across all IEA scenarios, with renewables growing at a faster rate than any other energy source. Nuclear energy is also making a comeback: after two decades of stagnation, global nuclear capacity is projected to increase by at least a third by 2035, thanks to both large-scale projects and small modular reactor designs.

Dave Jones, chief analyst at global energy think tank Ember, said, “The world is moving in the right direction, and continued acceleration can drive a more rapid transformation of the energy system. Renewables and electrification will dominate the future – and fossil-importing nations will gain the most by embracing them.”

Energy access and climate urgency

The IEA highlights two critical areas where the world is falling short: universal access to energy and climate goals. Roughly 730 million people still live without electricity, and nearly 2 billion rely on polluting cooking methods. Even in the agency’s most ambitious pathways, global temperatures surpass 1.5C of warming before potentially returning below that level later in the century.

Meanwhile, the effects of climate change are already disrupting energy systems. In 2023 alone, over 200 million households worldwide were affected by energy infrastructure failures, with transmission lines accounting for about 85% of incidents. The IEA says governments must prioritize resilience not only against extreme weather but also against cyberattacks and supply chain shocks.

Birol summed it up: “When we look at the history of the energy world in recent decades, there is no other time when energy security tensions have applied to so many fuels and technologies at once. With energy security front and center for many governments, their responses need to consider the synergies and trade-offs that can arise with other policy goals – on affordability, access, competitiveness, and climate change.”


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