New Hyundai Plug-In Hybrid Car Coming To The USA In 2016

It’s been all quiet on the hybrid front lately, especially since the 2016 Toyota Prius release has been pushed back to a point where it’s still over a year away.

Things look set to start heating up, though, as both Hyundai and Ford have plans to release a vehicle with a hybrid powertrain and no gasoline version.

That is exactly what Toyota have been doing with the Prius since 1997.

The Prius has had little competition, other than the now defunct Honda Insight, as no other volume hybrid cars have come onto the market, but that will all change in 2016.

Taking on a dedicated hybrid car has definite advantages, most notably in the fact that every element of the vehicle can be designed for maximum efficiency. There is no need to modify the battery or electric motor to suit the gasoline version of the car.

Hyundai has already stated their intent to release a dedicated hybrid, and perhaps even a total family of them, for launch in 2016.

The Ford entry is expected much further down the road, with 2019 the year they are tentatively slating as when they will enter the market.

It is believed that the new Hyundai hybrid may well be very much modeled after the Blue-Will plug-in concept car that was shown off in 2009 and 2010.

There have already been spy shots released of vehicles in development, none of which seem to feature a plug.

That leads many to believe that a dedicated hybrid will arrive first, with a plug-in variant coming later. There is even talk that the first Hyundaiplug-in hybrid car might arrive next year as a 2016 model.

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Release Date

Surprisingly enough, Hyundai is yet to offer a hybrid version of their incredibly popular Sonata midsize sedan.

The 2015 Sonata hybrid is actually nothing more than a carryover of the previous generation model.

This raises the question as to whether or not Hyundai would release a dedicated hybrid whilst also maintaining a Sonata Hybrid.

It’s not unheard of though, as that is what Toyota does with the Prius and the Camry Hybrid sedan.

Hyundai does not have the kind of cache in the hybrid market like Toyota does, which may mean that they simply choose to focus on a dedicated hybrid for now.

From there, they can then build a hybrid family like Toyota has done with the Prius.

If you look at the Blue-Will concept as the blueprint, you have to expect that a plug-in model will arrive at some point.

It’s also clear that all the major automakers will have a plug-in hybrid in their line-up by 2020, but whether those will be volume models or not remains to be seen.