Author: EVAI

Hyundai is expanding an offer of free home chargers or public-charging credits for owners of the refreshed 2025 Ioniq 5 electric vehicle.

This perk was previously offered to owners of the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N performance variant, but Hyundai confirmed Thursday that it’s now available to owners of other Ioniq 5 models as well. Customers can choose between a free ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 charger or a $400 public-charging credit for use at ChargePoint’s stations (it was originally $450 for Ioniq 5 N owners).

ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 home charger for 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

The home charger is the same unit Hyundai began offering to other EV customers in 2023. Both the charger and installation services are once again provided through the automaker’s Hyundai Home service, which aggregates home-charging possibilities for EV owners, as well as solar and energy storage options, and provides bids for installation.

As with the previous offer for Ioniq 5 N customers, Hyundai is covering hardwired installation, but not any other installation costs, taxes, or fees. Customers who purchased or leased a new 2025 Ioniq 5 after Jan. 1, 2025, have 60 days to choose the free home charger or charging credit, and 120 days to complete hardwired installation for the home charger. The public-charging credit is good for two years.

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5

The Ioniq 5 N, we’ve found, resets expectations for enthusiast EVs with genuine track capability and handling prowess to complement the brutal straight-line acceleration many EVs already offer. But the 2025 Ioniq 5 gets a number of notable updates, too.

Hyundai increased the size of the two available battery packs, boosting estimated range to 318 miles with the larger pack. Charging for all but the 5 N is now accomplished with a Tesla-style NACS connector; a new XRT grade brings off-road features; and all versions feature small styling changes. Hyundai is also shifting most Ioniq 5 production—5 N version aside—to its Georgia “Metaplant.”

Ram has reportedly canceled plans for its 1500 REV with a 229-kwh, 500-mile range battery The electric truck, due in 2026, is said to be offered exclusively with a 168-kwh, 350-mile range battery Ram will direct long-range customers to its 1500 Ramcharger series plug-in hybrid, which has 690 miles of range Ram’s electric version of its 1500 pickup…

ChargePoint aims to curtail vandalism at public electric vehicle charging stations by equipping them with cut-resistant cables and alarm systems.

The company unveiled both features Thursday, confirming that cut-resistant cables will be available for all of its “commercial and fleet charging stations.” It also plans to license the cut-resistant cable design—which uses a novel mix of materials the company claims is more difficult to tamper with—to other charging-equipment manufacturers starting in the middle of this year. But it’s unclear if existing stations can be retrofitted with the new cables.

Porsche Macan EV at ChargePoint charger

Existing owners of certain charging stations can have the alarm system added, though, as it’s a software-based feature that uses the speakers and lights already built into compatible station models. It’s available via a free over-the-air (OTA) software update, and includes email or text-messaging notification options if the alarm is triggered.

EV charging cables have been targeted by copper thieves in the past. A 2024 Associated Press report noted an increase in reported cable thefts that coincided with rising copper prices. Such thefts leave big repair bills for charging-station owners and fewer available chargers for EV drivers.

ChargePoint Omni Port

Additional security measures and tamper-proof cables could help deter cable-cutting thieves, but the solution might also be partly technological. Higher-power 800-volt charging means thinner cables that might be less of a target for theft. Companies have also been aiming to reduce cable bulk through innovative cooling methods, which could at least soften the financial blow when cables need to be replaced due to theft or vandalism.

A more direct solution to cable cutting is to eliminate the cables altogether. Wireless charging offers this, along with added convenience for EV drivers, but it’s been slow to catch on. So far, WiTricity is the only company supplying the tech in an original-equipment, passenger-vehicle, personal-use application outside China—the South Korean-market version of the Genesis GV60.

What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Ford Maverick? What does it compare to? The 2025 Ford Maverick is a small crew-cab pickup. It compares best with the Hyundai Santa Cruz, though those who need more towing capacity should look at the automaker’s larger, costlier, and thirstier Ranger. Is the 2025 Ford Maverick a good pickup? So long as you…

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Mitsubishi is developing a new Pajero Sport, the current generation of which is sold as the Montero Sport in some markets Sales of the midsize SUV are expected to start in 2026, though a U.S. launch is unlikely Mitsubishi may also be planning a new version of the larger Pajero/Montero, thanks to a new partnership with Honda and Nissan Mitsubishi…

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Slovenia’s Elaphe is emphasizing performance applications for its in-wheel electric motors.

At CES 2025, the company unveiled the Sonic 1, a thin electric motor it claims is compatible with high-performance brakes. That can be difficult with in-wheel motors, as they occupy the same real estate as brake hardware. Slimming down the motor allows for larger 400-millimeter brake rotors to be packaged together with motor hardware within a 21-inch front wheel, Elaphe claims in a press release.

The Sonic 1 is intended for EVs or hybrids. It generates 268 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque by default, but can be tuned for higher outputs. Each motor also adds 88 pounds of unsprung weight, which could make tuning for ride and handling more difficult.

Italdesign Quintessenza concept

Elaphe in-wheel motors were showcased on the Italdesign Quintessenza GT concept, a grand tourer with a raised ride height and pickup-style bed. Italdesign quotes a 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds, or 2.2 seconds with performance tires. A 150-kwh battery pack mounted under the floor provides an estimated 466 miles of range, although it’s unclear which test cycle that number is based on.

Elaphe in-wheel motors were slated to be used in the Lordstown Endurance pickup truck and the hyper-efficient Lightyear 0 sedan, but neither reached volume production. In 2023, Elaphe also announced a partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies—the tech arm of the race team and supercar builder—to use its motor tech in “highly efficient and hyper-responsive electric vehicles.”

Italdesign Quintessenza concept

In-wheel motors offer the packaging advantage of moving propulsion hardware to the corners of the vehicle. Despite the tradeoffs, established automakers are also showing more interest. Ferrari has tried to patent an in-wheel motor design for performance EVs, while Ford pickup trucks with what might be in-wheel motors were spotted testing last year.

Elaphe isn’t the only company slimming its in-wheel motors to achieve greater packaging flexibility and reduced unsprung weight. Donut Lab unveiled its own family of motors at CES 2025, claiming record power density and a wide range of sizes for use in everything from cars to drones.

• The Polestar 7 will be the brand’s compact SUV replacement, of sorts, for the Polestar 2 sedan.
• Polestar is owned by China’s Geely Group, which builds many different cars on versions of the same platforms worldwide. One common architecture can be found with Zeekr and Volvo as well.
• Could the Polestar 7 emulate the Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X? We’ll soon see.

The Polestar 2 has consistently been one of our favorite electric vehicles on the market. There’s only one big problem with it: it’s a sedan doing battle in an SUV-centric world. As good as it may be, it could only take the electric startup brand so far when people want bigger cars to haul kids and gear.

Actually, it has one other problem: it is built in China. That was fine for the Polestar 2 a few years ago when it launched, but these days, anti-China protectionist tariffs are all the rage in the U.S. and Europe. But today we learned that the upcoming Polestar 7 aims to solve both problems. It will be a compact electric crossover SUV, and built in Europe to avoid any of that tariff unpleasantness.

But while Polestar announced the Polestar 7 in its 2025 Business and Strategy Update video, it offered almost no details about the car at all—including from the company’s new chief designer. However, we can look to the rest of the Geely Group family for clues as to what it could be. 

The rendering you see here is based on the Zeekr X, from another Geely Group EV and hybrid brand that we’ve covered extensively. And if that silhouette looks familiar, it’s because the Zeekr X is closely related to the Volvo EX30, another compact crossover that’s just now making it to U.S. shores.

Now, Zeekr’s cars are currently manufactured in China, which keeps it from coming to America for now. And after getting delayed by U.S. tariffs, the also-China-built EX30 now may face an uncertain future with a looming ban on Chinese car technology. But Volvo is moving fast to fix the latter issue; the EX30 will be built in Ghent, Belgium later this year, and that version of the car should be exported here.

All of this is to say that if Polestar is aiming to build a compact, performance-focused crossover in the Polestar 7, the EX30 and Zeekr X’s SEA-2 platform could be a great contender for it. 

And the specs are already pretty legitimate. In U.S. form, Single Motor Extended Range Volvo EX30 has 268 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque with a range of 275 miles. The Twin Motor Performance has 422 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque and up to 253 miles of range. (Only the latter is being sold here right now, after the former was punted down the road due to tariffs.) In WLTP specs, the Zeekr X models are capable of at least 300 miles of range. The biggest battery in all of them is a 69 kWh NCM lithium-ion unit. 

Hopefully—and if my theory is right—our Polestar 7 would be capable of at least 300 miles of range too, as that’s increasingly feeling like table stakes these days. But the Geely Group is also using this same platform for the Smart 1 and Smart 3, as well as the new Lynk & Co Z20. I would be quite surprised if Polestar didn’t go this route as well. All of these cars even look fairly similar inside: big screen, very few buttons and physical switches, and a big emphasis on software. 

One of the only things we do know is that while Polestar–and the wider Geely Group—use many different vehicle platforms for now, the plan is to increasingly unify its hardware.

“Reinforcing the value of Polestar’s asset-light business model, Polestar 7 is planned to be manufactured in Europe,” Polestar officials said in a news release. “With production already in place in the U.S., South Korea and China, Polestar continues to strengthen its global position with a well-balanced international manufacturing network. Over time, from Polestar 7 onwards, the Company will gradually move from a multi-platform approach to one single architecture, reducing complexity, costs, and investments.” 

Regardless of how it goes down, Geely clearly has a lot to draw from. And as I experienced at CES sitting in the Zeekr 001, these cars seem very promising. Polestar may be coming off a rough year of sales and finances in 2024, but if it can get its own spin on cars like the Zeekr X and Volvo EX30, it should be in much better shape long-term.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com