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2016 Hyundai Sonata PHEV will be a 50-state car, sort of

Technically, the upcoming 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug In Hybrid will be available in all 50 states. It will just be a lot easier to get in the ten ZEV states. That's because in the 40 states that do not follow California's Zero Emission Vehicle regulations, Hyundai dealers will not be stocking the plug-in version of the Sonata when it goes on sale in the fall of 2015. In the ten ZEV states (California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont), Hyundai will stock and sell the PHEV Sonata just like any other model, with numerous colors and trim levels available on dealer lots. In the other 40 states, "we're not going to encourage dealers to stock them," because the company expects demand to be low, said Mike O'Brien, Hyundai's vice president of corporate and product planning. O'Brien was speaking at a launch event for the two new Sonatas in California this week. Hyundai has a reason for choosing the ZEV states as a starting point, O'Brien said. "The ten states are spending more money on charging infrastructure, so you can park at work, you can park while you're in the grocery store, and you can charge your car while you're doing it." In any other state, where the plug-in infrastructure is weaker, a customer can order a PHEV Sonata just as if they were going to get a specific color Veloster that the local dealer didn't have in stock, O'Brien said. "It's really no different." "If you just look at the sales, basically all our competitors, over half of their plug-in hybrid sales are right here in the state of California," O'Brien said. "Usually, much more than half. If you cover the ZEV states, you're going to cover over 85 percent of the sales already. And we're going to make sure that our dealers can accommodate and customers that wish to buy outside those states." In other ways, the PHEV buying process will be similar. The customer can choose, at time of purchase, to rely on standard 110-volt outlets or to work with the dealer to install a Level 2, 240-volt charger at their home. Hyundai will train its dealers to offer a preferred partner's charger (Hyundai would not specify which company it will be working with). With 110, an empty-to-full charge of the 9.8-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery will take around nine hours, but with Level 2 it'll be around three hours. "The essential technical elements [of the PHEV] are the same as the hybrid," O'Brien said.

2024 NY Auto Show, the new Mercedes G and a possible Xterra revival | Autoblog Podcast #825

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd, who joins us fresh from the floor at the 2024 New York Auto Show. They start with an overview of the show and this year's big debuts, then pivot to other news for talk of the 2025 Mercedes G-Class unveiling. After that, they touch on the potential for a Toyota FJ Cruiser revival, which then leads them to an Autoblog scoop from Nissan: a new Xterra is apparently on the table. They wrap up news with an overview of this year's Easter Jeep Safari concepts. From that, it's on to what they've been driving. Greg has spent some time in the Genesis G70, while Byron shares his thoughts from his first few weeks behind the wheel of the Autoblog long-term Subaru WRX.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #825 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown New York Auto Show Other News 2025 Mercedes G-Class FJ Cruiser Returning? Xterra Returning? 2024 Easter Jeep Safari What We're Driving Long-Term WRX Genesis G70 Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Podcasts New York Auto Show Genesis Hyundai Infiniti Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Subaru Volvo Truck Crossover Hatchback SUV Wagon Concept Cars Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Performance Sedan

China sticking to its guns on EVs for the future

Automakers are obviously free to develop whatever next-gen, zero-emissions tech that they want. However, if a company wants to get on the good side of the Chinese government, that strategy better include some plug-in vehicles. The authorities there are lending major support to plug-ins at the moment, and its forcing the auto industry to play along. According to Bloomberg, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and BMW are all launching dedicated EV brands with their joint venture partners, and as many as 40 electric models could hit the Chinese market this year alone. However, analysts don't think the vehicles are going to sell well. Instead, the launches are essentially a way for companies to play nice with the government and help get the approval to build factories in the country. Take Toyota as an example. The company is pushing the future of hydrogen hard with promotional films for the Mirai and engineers talking down fast-charging EVs. Still, the Japanese automaker is getting ready to launch two EV brands in China with its joint venture partners, according to Bloomberg. China's push for alternative fuels has been happening for a while, but it really kicked into high gear last year. The government has set a goal to improve fleet-wide economy by 40 percent by the end of the decade in order to spend less importing oil and for the population's health. The plan has shown some success so far with hybrid and EV sales growing early in 2015. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Kin Cheung / AP Photo Government/Legal Green BMW Hyundai Toyota Volkswagen Green Culture Technology Electric tax incentives chinese government