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2019 Hyundai Kona Electric starts under $30,000 with tax credit

The vital final detail to the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric is here: pricing. The base model starts at $37,495 before the $7,500 federal tax credit, meaning that with the credit, it starts at $29,995. That just happens to be the same as Chevy Bolt EV. Well, now at least, as the tax credit is likely going to run out in the next few months for GM and the Bolt EV. Once GM has sold 200,000 electric cars, the credit will drop to $3,750 for six months, and then to $1,875 for six more months, and nothing after. In addition to having a base price that matches the Chevy Bolt EV, the Hyundai Kona Electric has a few choice features that makes it an even more attractive deal. The Kona has a range of 258 miles, 20 more than the Bolt EV's 238 miles. The Kona also includes DC fast charging capability as standard. To have that feature on the Bolt EV, you'll have to shell out an extra $750. The Bolt EV does have an advantage over the Kona Electric, though: it's available everywhere, right now. The Hyundai Kona Electric will start hitting dealers early in 2019. Unfortunately, it will only be available in western and northeastern states with zero-emissions vehicle criteria. They're also states with drivers more likely to embrace electric cars. Hyundai hasn't announced release windows for other U.S. states. Related Video:

Google shows off its Android Auto system

Cars fitted with the Apple CarPlay system should be in dealerships next year, available as a delayed option on the 2015 Hyundai Sonata and eventually expected to be available on Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari vehicles. Google isn't that far behind with its Android Auto, and after Hyundai showed it off at the LA Auto Show, Google Developers used their Dev.Bytes program give us a better look at it. Any phone with Lollipop 5.0, the latest version of Android, will be able to interface with the system after being plugged into the car's USB port. The Google Now cards you're familiar with on the phone will appear on the infotainment screen, and from there you're in a mobile Android world. A report in Edmunds says that Whatsapp will be an option from the start, and nifty Google tricks like "contextual search via voice control" respond to queries based on what's being discussed. Although Bloomberg recently did a video examining the Google vs. Apple question, your choice won't be binary; in Hyundais, at least, both systems will be fitted, plugging a phone in will decide which one comes up on screen. We don't know when we'll see it dealerships, but the video will give you a glimpse into your Android future.

VW planning to push Hyundai for World Cup eyeballs

Adidas was an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the German sportswear company got drowned out of early advertising buzz by Nike, which wasn't a World Cup sponsor. The American company's Write the Future ad put it at the top of Nielsen's study of online buzz, ahead of Adidas. The same thing happened to official World Cup sponsor Budweiser when it got drummed out of the top ten in Nielsen's buzz ratings, while Danish brewer Carlsberg - not a Cup sponsor - ranked sixth.
Volkswagen hopes to score the same goal on Hyundai during this year's World Cup in Brazil. Hyundai and Kia have been official sponsors of the global soccer federation FIFA since 2002 and are official sponsors of the World Cup through 2022. VW has "a major ad buy" planned to run on ABC, ESPN and Univision as well as digital and social media channels during the competition, which begins June 12, to promote the GTI. VW of America's VP of marketing said the Cup's attraction to young males and Hispanics makes it the perfect place to promote the hot hatch.
The sparring between Hyundai and VW has already begun. Volkswagen's Gol compact, named for the Portuguese word for a soccer goal, has been the best selling car in Brazil for 27 years, and the German company sponsors the national soccer team. When Hyundai Brazil began a promotional campaign promising to extend its five-year warranty for six if the Brazilians won a sixth world cup, Volkswagen of Brazil complained to the soccer federation, which asked Hyundai to pull the campaign. As of this writing, that hasn't happened, so we expect it'll be boots on, gloves off, on and off the pitch this summer.