Tag Archives: Hyundai

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Hyundai Staria Electric Aims to Make Minivans Cool Again

Hyundai has never been shy about turning the volume knob past 11, and the Staria proves it. Now the brand is plugging in its most spaceship-like MPV yet, aiming squarely at rivals like the Kia PV5 and Ford E-Tourneo Custom with a fully electric Staria that’s officially headed for Europe—and potentially the UK.

First launched in 2021, the Staria looked less like a minivan and more like something that had slipped through a wormhole from the year 2045. Underneath its monolithic skin sits the same platform as the Santa Fe, and until now European buyers have only had diesel power to work with. That changes with the debut of the Staria Electric, revealed at the Brussels motor show and approved for right-hand-drive markets.

At 5255mm long and nearly two metres tall, the Staria Electric isn’t just big—it’s unapologetically enormous. A 2375mm wheelbase supports either seven or nine seats, making this the largest electric vehicle Hyundai currently offers. The company sees its appeal extending from large families to airport shuttle fleets to anyone whose idea of an “active lifestyle” involves hauling half their life at once.

Power comes from an 84kWh lithium-ion battery feeding a 216bhp motor driving the front wheels. Hyundai hasn’t published a 0–62mph time, but given the output and size, expect something around the eight-second mark. Top speed is a claimed 114mph, and towing capacity tops out at a respectable two tonnes—figures that keep it competitive with both ICE and electric people-movers.

The real eyebrow-raiser is underneath. Despite being based on an internal-combustion platform, the Staria Electric uses 800-volt electrical architecture—the same tech found in Hyundai’s dedicated EVs. That enables rapid charging from 10 to 80 percent in just 20 minutes, implying average charging speeds north of 180kW. For a vehicle this size, that’s genuinely impressive.

Visually, the electric version doesn’t stray far from the facelifted ICE model. You still get the unmistakable wraparound LED light bar, twin sliding doors, massive glasshouse, and a cavernous interior with a flat floor and cathedral-like headroom. Hyundai says suspension tweaks and additional sound insulation have been added to better suit the quieter EV powertrain.

Inside, the dashboard mirrors other modern Hyundais, with twin 12.3-inch screens and a welcome number of physical buttons for key functions. The column-mounted gear selector frees up space in the centre console, reinforcing the Staria’s lounge-on-wheels vibe.

Hyundai plans to offer the seven-seat Luxury version and the four-row Wagon variant in Europe during the first half of the year. UK availability hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the intent is clearly there.

If minivans are due for an electric reinvention, the Staria Electric makes a compelling case—big, bold, fast-charging, and utterly unconcerned with blending in. Whether British buyers are ready for something this unapologetically futuristic is the only remaining question.

Source: Hyundai

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Hyundai Brings Humanoids to the Assembly Line

If your mental picture of an auto plant still involves sparks flying, steel-toe boots stomping, and a steady soundtrack of pneumatic tools, Hyundai would like a word. By 2028, some of the work at its new Georgia manufacturing facility will be handled not by humans in hard hats but by a humanoid robot named Atlas. It walks upright, carries parts with hands, and doesn’t clock out for lunch.

Yes, really.

Atlas is the latest sign that the modern car factory is evolving into something that looks less like a warehouse and more like a science-fiction set—one where the workforce increasingly includes machines that can see, think, and move like people. Hyundai’s announcement lands at an awkward cultural moment, too. The U.S. is loudly calling for the return of manufacturing jobs, even as automation makes it clear those jobs won’t look the way they used to.

Atlas comes from Boston Dynamics, the robotics company famous for making machines that can sprint, backflip, and generally unsettle anyone who’s seen Terminator more than once. Hyundai bought the company in 2021, and this isn’t a viral stunt robot designed to dance for YouTube views. This Atlas is meant to work.

The specs are impressive in a very blue-collar way. Atlas has human-scale hands with tactile sensing, joints that rotate far beyond human limits, and the ability to lift about 110 pounds without a groan, grimace, or OSHA complaint. It doesn’t get bored. It doesn’t get tired. And it definitely doesn’t ask for overtime.

At least initially, Hyundai says Atlas won’t be tightening bolts or hanging doors. Its first assignment will be parts sequencing—basically fetching, moving, and organizing components before they’re installed on the car. That may sound mundane, but in a high-volume factory, it’s a critical job that’s repetitive, physically demanding, and easy to mess up at 3 a.m. on a long shift.

If all goes according to plan, the robots will graduate to more complex assembly tasks by the end of the decade, once Hyundai is satisfied they can operate safely and consistently alongside humans. That last part matters. A 300-pound humanoid robot swinging its arms near people is not something you beta-test casually.

Hyundai is careful to frame this as collaboration, not replacement. The talking point is familiar: robots handle the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks, freeing human workers to focus on supervision, quality control, and higher-level problem-solving. It’s the same argument automation advocates have made for decades, only now the robots look like coworkers instead of industrial cabinets.

The company also notes—correctly—that robots don’t appear out of thin air. Someone has to design them, build them, program them, maintain them, and train them. Those are jobs, too, even if they require different skills than running a spot welder or installing trim.

Still, it’s hard to ignore the anxiety this kind of announcement creates. Labor groups are watching closely, and factory workers have every reason to wonder what a future full of tireless machines means for long-term employment, wages, and job security. Hyundai says it understands those concerns and insists humans will remain central to its manufacturing operations, even as automation ramps up.

Zoom out a bit, and Atlas fits neatly into Hyundai’s broader push into what it calls “physical AI”—essentially software intelligence embodied in machines that can sense the world, make decisions, and act on them. The same underlying tech that lets a robot recognize and grab a suspension component also feeds into autonomous driving systems and fully automated factories.

In other words, this isn’t just about one robot in one plant. It’s about a future where cars are designed, built, and eventually driven by systems that increasingly resemble human intelligence, minus the coffee breaks.

Hyundai isn’t alone here, either. Tesla is developing its own humanoid robot, and Mercedes-Benz has already begun testing similar machines at its Berlin factory. Once one major automaker proves the concept works at scale, it’s hard to imagine the rest of the industry not following suit.

So yes, your next Hyundai may owe part of its existence to a robot that looks vaguely like a person and moves with unsettling confidence. It’s strange, a little uncomfortable, and probably inevitable—much like Henry Ford’s moving assembly line was a century ago. The tools have changed. The stakes haven’t.

Source: Hyundai

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Hyundai i30 N: The Hot Hatch Comeback No One Saw Coming

For a moment, it looked like the classic hot hatch was headed for extinction. With Ford shelving the Focus ST and Honda letting the Civic Type R bow out in Europe, the segment suddenly felt like an endangered species. But Hyundai—yes, Hyundai, the brand that shook the establishment with the original i30 N—is gearing up for a comeback. And according to a source speaking to Autocar, the next i30 N won’t be electric. It’ll burn fuel.

This is the kind of plot twist you don’t get every day.

A Return to Roots—With a Twist

When the first i30 N launched in 2017, it was Hyundai’s opening salvo against Europe’s performance royalty. Chassis stiffening, an electronic limited-slip diff, and a 2.0-liter turbo punching out up to 276 horsepower made it more than a Golf GTI rival—it was a legitimate giant killer.

But in 2024, Hyundai pulled the plug on both the i30 N and the smaller i20 N as part of its public pivot toward high-performance EVs. The N brand’s current lineup—the Ioniq 5 N and upcoming Ioniq 6 N—focuses on 600-plus-horsepower battery brawlers.

And yet, behind the scenes, something was brewing.

“We Are Not Limiting Ourselves to EVs”

N division boss Joon Park recently told Autocar that the performance arm was never meant to go EV-only, despite what fans might assume.

“There is a perception that Hyundai N is only focusing on the EV world, which is not true… We are not limiting ourselves to EVs.”

That statement now reads like a quiet warning of what’s coming next.

Sources say Hyundai has already begun work on a new combustion-powered i30 N—likely with hybrid assistance. That gives Hyundai some flexibility when navigating Europe’s tightening emissions rules while still delivering the punch N cars are famous for.

So What Will Power It?

Details are still sealed tight, but the clues are intriguing. Hyundai has been testing a wild Veloster-based prototype fitted with a new internal combustion engine described by engineers as “high revving” and “high performance.” It’s currently mounted midship in the mule—think Toyota’s approach with its mid-engined GR prototype—but Hyundai notes the engine can be packaged in other layouts.

Could this be the heart of the next i30 N? It’s too early to say, but the intention is clear.

Hyundai says it wants to “develop an engine that meets market performance requirements and mass-produce it without problems.” In other words, not a niche toy—something with real volume behind it.

More conservative predictions suggest an uprated hybrid version of the i30’s existing 1.5-liter electrified powertrain. But the Veloster mule hints that Hyundai might be dreaming much bigger.

Timing the Comeback

Spy shots have recently caught Hyundai preparing a third facelift for the third-generation i30, expected sometime next year. That makes the timeline for an i30 N revival fairly straightforward: expect the performance variant to land by late 2026 or early 2027.

A Hyundai spokesperson, responding to Autocar, said:

“Hyundai is committed to introducing seven new N models by 2030, exploring a broad range of powertrains such as internal combustion, hybrid and electric vehicles.”

Seven new N models. A broad powertrain mix. A new combustion engine in testing. And now, the strong likelihood of a petrol-powered hot hatch returning to a market that desperately needs one.

The Hot Hatch Isn’t Dead—It’s Just Getting a Reboot

If Hyundai brings the i30 N back with the same attitude it had in 2017—loud pops, sharp handling, track credibility, and an underdog swagger—it won’t just fill the void left by the Focus ST and Civic Type R.

It’ll redefine it.

Source: Autocar