Hyundai unveiled a new home charging solution at the Los Angeles Auto Show this year as part of its strategy to draw in new electric vehicle buyers, according to TechCrunch. The South Korean automaker has reportedly partnered with an installer of home batteries, solar panels, and heat pump Electrum.
Hyundai Home
Hyundai’s “Hyundai Home” includes solar panels, energy storage, and electric vehicle charging.
Through this partnership, clients in 16 states will be assisted in locating the optimal power installers and systems to meet their EV charging demands.
That said, customers in the following states can now consult with Electrum advisers to identify the ideal and cheapest power solutions for them:
· Arizona
· California
· Colorado
· Connecticut
· Florida
· Illinois
· Maryland
· Massachusetts
· Maine
· Missouri
· Nevada
· New Jersey
· New York
· Oregon
· Pennsylvania
· Rhode Island
· Virginia
· Washington
In an interview with TechCrunch at the LA Auto Show, Tupper stated:
“With Hyundai Home, we’re really trying to democratize, not only EV charging and being able to adopt an electric vehicle, but the entire ecosystem around it. We 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.”
The problem
In an effort to reduce carbon emissions nationwide, states like California have banned the sale of new gasoline cars by 2035.
Therefore, more Americans would prefer purchasing hybrids, plug-in hybrids, or electric cars. However, the US Census indicates that a third of American households are tenants, and most rental homes are older.
That said, landlords own the decision to spend on panel renovations and give charging access to multiunit garages for their tenants. Notably, a single-family home’s electrical panel may need to be modified at a price of between $1,300 and $3,000 or more to be used for charging EVs.
Due to the high cost of NEVs, many people will not afford to buy them, especially those who reside in multifamily buildings without access to home charging.
Tupper asserts that Hyundai is considering doing this, but he could not elaborate on their probable plans.
The solution
“If we want to achieve mass adoption, we need to solve that problem for renters and so we’re attacking it in a couple of different ways. First through our partnership with Electrify America. We’re working with them to incentivize to construction of as much charging infrastructure as possible and we’re trying to give it to customers for free,” Tupper told TechCrunch.
“We’re taking a strategic partnership approach and trying to identify the players right to offer, really a smattering of solutions. If there’s a city where, you know, we can help support the production or the development of charging hub, great. But if there’s a way for us to even incentivize low-power AC charging. We’re going to take a look at that as well,” he added.
Hyundai is collaborating with companies like Electrum to provide clients in states besides the 16 Electrum serviced areas with extra charging and power storage options.
