Hyundai’s new 2024 Kona Electric is bigger, bolder, and better than ever
The revamped 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric goes on sale later this fall with a new sporty design, a ton of added features, and up to 260 miles of range.
Hyundai launched the Kona Electric in 2018 as the compact electric SUV quickly became a favorite among buyers and journalists.
With up to 258 miles of range and a starting price under $40,000, the Kona Electric carved a market of its own. However, new releases like the Chevy Bolt EV and Tesla Model Y began overtaking the Kona Electric in sales with modern designs and enhanced features.
Hyundai is stepping it up for its second-gen Kona model with an EV-derived sporty design, more interior room, and added safety and tech features.
The 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric was unveiled in December, five years since its market debut. Hyundai’s new compact SUV is designed as an EV first, adapting the model for combustion models rather than the other way around.
Hyundai took in customer feedback, including requests for more interior space and more range, using it to improve the 2024 Kona Electric in every way possible.
Meet the 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric
You can notice the changes at first sight. The exterior design has been completely revamped to feature a striking, EV-inspired look.
Hyundai improved the aerodynamics with a drag coefficient of 0.27. This was achieved through an improved nose and rear liftgate, active grille shutters, and more. Meanwhile, Hyundai added EV-specific elements, including a Pixelated Seamless Horizon Lamp running across the front and Pixel graphics.
A new charging port door lamp helps for those nightly charging sessions while available battery preconditioning enhances performance in cold temps.
The interior boasts a larger tech-infused “living space” with a floating horizontal C-Pad and integrated dual 12.3″ panoramic display screens.
The Kona Electric’s interior layout is larger, wider, and more versatile than ever at 104.7″ long, 71.9″ wide, and 62.2″ tall (with roof rails). At the same time, the front seats are 30% slimmer to maximize rear passenger legroom, while a latching system allows for rear seat reclining.
With fully foldable second-row seating, the new Kona EV offers up to 63.7 cubic feet of rear cargo volume, making it easier to load and unload.
The 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric also comes with 0.95 cubic feet of storage in the frunk, V2L capability, and a Smart Regenerative System. The new i-PEDAL driving mode enables one-pedal driving while the Smart Regen system automatically adjusts braking based on real-time data.
Hyundai’s new compact electric SUV will be offered with two battery options. The standard 48.6 kWh model has 133 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque (range has yet to be confirmed).
Meanwhile, the larger 64.8 kWh battery with 201 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque offers an estimated 260-mile range. The Kona Electric can charge from 10% to 80% in 43 minutes with 400V fast charging. It will be available at US dealers later this fall.
Electrek’s Take
The new Kona Electric is slated to play a critical role as Hyundai transitions to an electric future. Hyundai Europe CEO Michael Cole believes the electric model will overtake the gas-powered and hybrid versions in sales. The same will likely happen here in the US as well.
With a significant design overhaul and new features, the Kona EV perfectly complements the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 in Hyundai’s all-electric lineup.
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In a move that helps the brand duck protectionist anti-Chinese tariffs, Volvo Cars has switched production of its award-winning EX30 models destined for US roads from its Zhangjiakou plant in China to the Ghent facility in Belgium.
Volvo EX30 production began in the company’s Ghent factory back in April, but those first cars were earmarked for the Swedish domestic and European export markets, but that move wasn’t primarily motivated by avoiding tariffs. As Electrive reports, the company seemed happy enough to continue importing its small electric crossover from China and accepting the new 28.8% tariffs (up from 10%), but the wait times to get the vehicles shipped in from China was imply too long.
In 2024, Swedish and German buyers had to wait up to eight months for their EX30 in some cases, according to Volvo Cars’ European boss, Arek Nowinski, per Automotive News. Once production in Ghent is fully up to speed, however, wait times should be cut to about 90 days. Those wait times, and the price hike associated with the tariffs, have hurt sales of the originally Chinese-made Volvo EV. In 2024, for example, the EX30 ranked third in European EV sales, but slipped out of the top 10 first half of 2025.
“The car is now being built in Europe, which means faster delivery times,” Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson to Automotive News. “We should return to the sales and market share figures for the EX30 that we had before the introduction of tariffs.”
Coming to Staying in America
The EX30’s switch to Ghent is good news for American fans of the compact, lickety-quick Volvo EV. Now that it’s no longer exclusively made in China, Volvo has decided to give it a stay of execution as it revamps its US product lineup to better align with market trends (read: SUVs) and the changing political landscape (read: tariffs and inflation).
The reason? The Made in China version of the EX30 would virtually unsellable in the US due to the implementation of 147% tariffs on vehicles imported from China. Vehicles imported from Europe, meanwhile, carry just 15% tariffs, keeping the EX30 in a competitive price bracket.
Expect to see both Ghent and South Carolina play an increasingly large role in Volvo’s US product mix – at least for the next three-odd years.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Cars, Automotive News, via Electrive.
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New filings have revealed that BYD is about to release a ridiculous 3,000 hp electric supercar: the Yangwang U9 Track Edition.
BYD already shocked the world when it launched the Yangwang U9, its first all-electric supercar.
It featured four advanced electric motors with a combined power of nearly 1,300 horsepower. The U9 can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in just 2.36 seconds.
With a motor at each wheel and a highly advanced electric-air suspension, the U9 can turn on itself and even jump over potholes.
But that was only the beginning.
Based on a new filing with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), BYD is preparing to launch a new ‘Track Edition’ of the Yangwang U9:
When an automaker releases a “track” version of a car, it typically primarily features body changes for better aerodynamic performance, adding downforce, and it will also often feature bigger brakes.
The Yangwang U9 ‘Track Edition’ appears to feature all that… and much more.
The filing reveals that BYD updated the motors at each wheel to a new 555 kW motor. That’s a higher-performing motor than in most performance electric vehicles. The U9 Track Edition has four of them for a total of 2,220 kW (3,019 hp).
I would have thought that this was a typo if it wasn’t for the insane electric vehicles coming out of China these days.
Here are a few pictures from the MIIT filing:
There are a lot of performance specs that are not included in the MIIT filing. Therefore, it will be interesting to see when the vehicle is fully unveiled and BYD reveals what kind of performance it can achieve with 3,000 hp packed in 4 electric motors.
Here are a few other features mentioned in the filing:
Standard features:
- 20-inch wheels with 325/35 R20 tyres
- Carbon-fibre roof
- Large fixed carbon-fibre rear wing
- Rear diffuser with adjustable blades for aerodynamic optimisation
Optional aerodynamic parts:
- Standard or enhanced carbon-fibre front splitter
- Electric rear wing
Electrek’s Take
How are they going to keep that thing from flying away? Seriously.
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