Hyundai launches home charging ecosystem as part of EV push

At the LA Auto Show this week, the company announced a new way for its customers to charge at home as part of the company's effort to woo a new group of EV buyers.

Solar panels, energy storage and EV charging are included in the home. Customers in 16 states will be able to find the right power installers and systems for their EV charging needs thanks to a partnership betweenHyundai and Electrum. Consumers in Arizona, California, Colorado. Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington can now work with Electrum advisers to find the best and most affordable power solutions for them.

Ian Tupper, the senior group manager of strategic environmental partnerships atHyundai, said that prior to this week's announcement, dealers were helping customers get in touch with local installers and power suppliers in order to get charging and storage set up for their newHyundai EV like the Ioniq 5

HomeHyundai is trying to democratize, not only EV charging and being able to adopt an electric vehicle, but the entire environment surrounding it. Tupper said that they want to make it easy for customers to go solar to get energy storage and to eventually use all those systems together to reduce their energy bill.

Making EV charging more accessible

As the U.S. makes a push to reduce carbon emissions, many states are banning the sale of new gasoline vehicles by the year 2035. More and more Americans are going to be looking at electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and hybrid cars for their next car purchase. According to the U.S. Census, one-third of American housing is rentals, which means that landlords will have to invest in upgrade panels and provide charging access in order to get access to at- home charging.

The average cost to upgrade an electrical panel in a single family home is between $1,300 and $3,000. Many people won't be able to afford home charging for battery-electric, hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles because of the high price. Tupper wasn't able to give any concrete details about future plans, but he did say that the company is considering that.

If we want to achieve mass adoption, we need to solve the problem for renters and so we are attacking it in a number of different ways. Through our partnership withElectrify America. Tupper said that they were working with them to give away charging infrastructure for free. We are taking a partnership approach and trying to identify the players that are right for us. We can support the production or the development of a charging hub in a city. It would be great if there was a way to reward low-power AC Charging. We are also going to look at that.

Tupper says thatHyundai is working with its partners like Electrum to bring more charging and power storage options to more customers in other states.

Customers not only get the right products, but they also get the right products at the right price is the guiding principle of the company. When we help the customer find the right solution on the marketplace, we are able to deliver, usually a substantially better deal than something they would normally just get from a local provider.