No apps, no swipes – every EV will get Supercharger-like charging in 2025
Universal Plug & Charge – the ability for any EV to just plug in and start charging without having to open an app, swipe a card or press any buttons first – will be ready in 2025 and promises to make EV charging much easier, thanks to an effort between the Society of Automotive Engineers, the auto industry, and the Biden Admin’s Joint Office of Energy & Transportation.
In the ideal case, one of the best parts of EV ownership is the fact that it’s such a convenient, easy experience. Just charge your car at home most nights, and the few times you need to charge on the road, stop at a DC fast charger, plug in (without having to swipe a credit card or anything) when you have lunch or otherwise need a break, and continue on whenever you’re ready.
But, outside of Tesla Superchargers and the much smaller Rivian Adventure Network, on-the-road EV charging can be an inconsistent experience in the US. While other networks exist and plenty of drivers use them every day, they typically have lower reliability and can be confusing or frustrating to initiate charge sessions at.
Many EV drivers can tell you about exasperated moments they’ve experienced, or witnessed others experience. Lots of us have had to coach a new owner through the charging process – or struggled with it ourselves when setting up a new charging app for the fifteenth f$%*ing time.
It would be a lot better if you could just walk up, plug in, and charge. And do this anywhere.
This idea isn’t new – Tesla’s system already works like this, but it can do so since it’s vertically integrated and one company controls the whole process. For public chargers that have to serve several different types of cars, the back end hasn’t been available to allow this sort of charging.
The problem is the lack of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) back-end to authenticate vehicles and payments. Public keys are a cryptographic mechanism that allow for secure authentication – one example is website certificates, so your computer can know that it is looking at a legitimate website.
In Europe, this PKI is provided by a company called Hubject, which verifies charging sessions on European public chargers. But in the US, nobody had coalesced around a single company or organization to provide these certificate services yet.
A solution has been in the works for a few years now, and it’s finally just about ready to go, in the form of what’s colloquially referred to as “Universal Plug & Charge,” and technically referred to as the ISO 15118 standard.
Today, a consortium of companies, the SAE, and the Biden Administration’s Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced that Universal Plug & Charge will come in 2025.
The technical details involve a PKI back-end that isn’t provided by a single company, but utilizes a standardized process to allow various companies to provide this service.
In practical terms, it means faster starts to charging sessions as the communication process is streamlined, better security, and potential future capabilities like bidirectional charging.
And it means that other EVs that support Plug & Charge will finally have a Tesla-like charging experience, where they can just plug in and start charging – with payment taken care of on the back end, instead of having to swipe cards or open new apps.
The Joint Office says that PKI suppliers can start applying to offer back-end services, and that “throughout 2025, the industry will continue to move toward the universal Plug & Charge model.”
So… like many things have been with EVs, it sounds like there will still be a gradual process of adoption, but the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible, and it looks like EV fast-charging is going to get a lot simpler in the near future.
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Toyota USA has refreshed its RAV4 for 2026, and, in a significant step forward for efficiency, Toyota has axed the non-hybrid version of the vehicle. The RAV4 will now only be available in HEV and PHEV versions starting in the 2026 model year.
However, in an act of greenwashing reminiscent of many things Toyota has done before, it’s confusingly calling its vehicles “100% electrified” – despite that every single RAV4 includes a gas engine.
The improvements include new looks and trim lines, including an outdoorsy Woodland model (like the bZ just got) and a higher-performance “GR SPORT” model (though, we must remind everyone, that SUVs are not sportscars and will never be sportscars), and higher power from both PHEV and HEV models.
The PHEV model also boasts improved range, bumped from 42 miles to 50 miles – still lower than we’d typically consider worthy of coverage on Electrek, but the number is at least usable to keep the average driver on electric power for most of their daily driving (if they bother to plug it in).
Some trims will have DC fast charging, and you’ll be able to charge from 10-80% in 30 minutes.
Notably, the RAV4 no longer includes any option for a non-hybrid powertrain. All trims are either hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Previously, it had been anticipated that an EV model might join the lineup, but it looks like Toyota is just sticking with the newly-renamed bZ model for that purpose.
Toyota calls its new RAV4 options “highly efficient electrified powertrains,” but did not specify anticipated EPA mileage numbers for the HEV model, or for the PHEV when operating on gas power. The current RAV4 hybrid gets 39mpg (that’s about 10mpg better than the non-hybrid), and we would imagine something in that ballpark for the updated model.
The 2026 RAV4 will be available in Toyota dealerships across the US “later this year.” Pricing has not yet been announced.
Electrek’s Take
But the real issue here is the use of the word “electrified,” and specifically, “100% electrified.”
Toyota has a long history of deceptive advertising when it comes to its electrification efforts. Its lies have gotten it in trouble before, both in Norway and in the US.
Toyota is also the largest auto industry funder of climate denial, and has consistently ranked as the worst auto industry lobbyist on climate policy worldwide.
So its use of the word “electrified” should be looked at with some skepticism, since the company has used it before to confuse consumers into thinking that its vehicles are more efficient than they really are. For some previous coverage on that, see the FTC complaint filed against Toyota over its false electrification claims.
In this case, Toyota has upped the ante, not just claiming that its vehicles are electrified, but “100% electrified.”
There are a lot of terms that get used confusingly in the EV industry, oftentimes purposefully, in order to greenwash companies’ efforts. EV, PHEV, EREV, FCEV, HEV, BEV, electrified, all-electric, and so on.
But one thing that has heretofore been reserved for models that do not include a gasoline engine is any variation on “all-electric,” “100% electric,” “fully electric” or the like.
So, moving from “electrified” to “100% electrified” certainly seems like intentional phrasing by Toyota here. “Electrified” was already questionable, but “100% electrified” is well over the line.
So despite that we should be happy about a step-change improvement in powertrain availability on the RAV4, and the elimination of the non-hybrid model, Toyota just had to play one of its tricks and remind us why they’re the greatest enemy of electrification in the auto industry (well… save one).
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Elon Musk interviews on CNBC from the Tesla Headquarters in Texas.
CNBC
Elon Musk said Tuesday that artificial intelligence development could run into power generation problems by the middle of next year, as the technology industry builds increasingly large data centers.
Musk told CNBC in an interview that his artificial intelligence startup xAI is planning a gigawatt-size facility outside Memphis, Tenn. He said the facility would be complete in six to nine months. A gigawatt is equivalent to the power capacity of the average nuclear plant in the U.S., according to the Department of Energy.
Musk said AI faces three major limitations as it scales up: chips, transformers and power generation. Transformers are used to ramp down the voltage of electricity produced by power plants so it can used by computers.
“As we solve the transformer shortage, there will be the fundamental electricity generation shortage,” Musk told CNBC’s David Faber. “My guess is people are going to start hitting challenges with power generation maybe by the middle of next year, end of next year.”
Alphabet’s Google unit warned in February that the U.S. is facing a power capacity crisis as the U.S. races against China to achieve dominance in AI. Google started looking into nuclear energy after realizing renewables were potentially causing instability on the grid, said Caroline Golin, Google’s global head of energy market development. The output of wind and solar is dependent on weather conditions.
Google ran into a “very stark reality that we didn’t have enough capacity on the system to power our data centers in the short term and then potentially in the long term,” Golin said at a February conference hosted by the Nuclear Energy Institute in New York City.
Musk said Tuesday that China is building significantly more power generation than U.S. “China power generation looks like a rocket going to orbit and U.S. power generation is flat,” the Tesla CEO said.
Musk’s xAI is using natural gas turbines to help power its Colossus data center in Memphis. Environmental advocates have accused xAI of violating the Clean Air Act and permitting requirements for “major sources of air pollution” by using gas turbines without mitigation technologies or permits in place.
Utilities such as Dominion Energy told investors on recent earnings calls that they are not seeing evidence of slowing data center demand, despite anxiety in the market that the tech sector might cut back on concerns about of a possible recession. Dominion serves the largest data center market in the world located in northern Virginia.
But Constellation Energy cautioned that although demand is strong, some of the forecasts by utilities are overstated as developers shop their data centers in multiple jurisdictions. Constellation is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S.
“I just have to tell you, folks, I think the load is being overstated,” CEO Joe Dominguez said on the power company’s first quarter earnings call. “We need to pump the brakes here.”
Hyundai is shutting down a production line at its Ulsan plant in Korea, where the IONIQ 5 and Kona EV are built. Although it’s only for a few days, the move comes as the automaker faces slower exports.
Why is Hyundai pausing EV production in Korea?
For the third time this year, Hyundai is planning to pause production of some of its most popular EV models in Korea.
Industry sources said on May 20 (via Newsis) that Hyundai will shut down Line 2 at its Ulsan plant in Korea, where it builds the IONIQ 5 and Kona Electric. The pause will start on May 27 and end on May 30.
Despite launching a new discount campaign in Korea earlier this month, offering over $4,300 (6 million won) in savings on the IONIQ 5, sales are still lagging. In particular, Hyundai has exported significantly fewer IONIQ 5 models this year.
Through April, Hyundai exported just 9,663 IONIQ 5s, down from 27,476 sold overseas in the same period last year.
Kona EV exports have also fallen sharply. Through April 2025, Hyundai shipped just 3,428 Kona EV models, down 42% from nearly 6,000 last year.
According to the report, Hyundai said in an internal note, “The sluggish sales in the global electric vehicle market have not improved,” adding, “We have made every effort to secure additional orders, but we are currently unable to secure the quantity.”
Following a temporary halt in February and April, this will be Hyundai’s third time pausing EV production in Korea this year.
In a turn of events, Hyundai’s joint venture in China, Beijing Hyundai, announced losses improved by over 100 million won ($72 million) in Q1. With its first custom-tailored electric SUV launching in China later this year, Beijing Hyundai could turn a profit by the end of 2025.
The Korean automaker reported its seventh consecutive record sales month in the US. The IONIQ 5 remains a top seller with over 12,000 units sold through April, up 14% from last year.
IONIQ 6 sales, on the other hand, are down 10% this year, with 4,424 sold through April, and Hyundai doesn’t give a breakdown for Kona EV sales.
Hyundai is also offering generous discounts in the US right now with up to $12,500 in upfront savings on the new three-row IONIQ 9. The 2025 IONIQ 5 is a steal with leases starting at just $209 per month.
Ready to try out Hyundai’s electric vehicles for yourself? We’ve got you covered. You can use our links below to find popular Hyundai EV models in your area.
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