Auto manufacturers are coming for your home. Specifically, your home’s electrical system. Hyundai is the most recent company to turn its sights in the direction of the domicile with the launch of Hyundai Home.
Revealed this year at the Los Angeles Motor Show, the Korean company’s ambitions are about making purchasing an EV more attractive. The company plans to do this by way of its new Home marketplace. It’s almost a one-stop shop for all things solar — because if you could fuel your car more or less free, you totally would.
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This sort of action isn’t new. Tesla launched its Powerwall, a battery based on its vehicle tech that can power a whole home. Nissan’s Leaf is capable of feeding power into a home that needs it. And even Toyota has launched a range of home-based battery products. Hyundai’s approach is a little different, however.
Instead of creating its own hardware for sale, the Korean brand has teamed up with local installers in supported markets. Before you get too excited, those markets are all American, for now. But it’s an interesting concept — connecting vehicle buyers with solar panel and battery storage purveyors in their neighbourhood makes a sort of sense.
Read More: Hyundai South Africa brings solar energy to its head office and dealerships
But it does mean that setups will be non-standard and pricing will vary. We’ve seen this locally with appliance brand Defy’s solar-supported fridge and freezer. Installation costs will vary from location to location, depending on what sort of solution is selected. At least Hyundai’s car charger will remain consistent. The company is teaming up with ChargePoint for its EV chargers. These are the main point of its electrification drive, but anyone wanting to switch a whole home over to solar can. For a price, of course.
Will we ever see something like this in South Africa? It’s very possible. But at the moment, Hyundai Home is only present in sixteen of America’s 51 states. It’ll probably be a while before South Africa makes the waiting list. Once the company launches its ICONIQ EV range in Africa, though, we might see its new marketplace follow suit.
Source: The Verge