Hyundai Will Charge You For No Charge

Everybody likes free stuff. Related to that, everyone likes being reimbursed for money already spent. Hyundai knows this.

Which is why the company is offering a plan that will have it reimburse lessees of its Ioniq electric vehicle for the electricity they use while charging. The plan, which Hyundai estimates will save a lessee who drives 30 miles a day $41.40 a month off his or her lease, is being pitched to attract consumers who are still wary of driving an EV – and wary of the associated costs of charging.

The program is similar to those in which automakers offer free fuel allowances to those who drive fuel-cell cars. But there’s a big difference – refueling stations for fuel cells are hard to find, and the hydrogen used isn’t cheap. Electricity for EVs is much more plentiful.

Deal Sweetener

Offering reimbursement for charging might not be enough for some folks. It doesn’t change the battery range or make the battery charge faster. And if a buyer doesn’t like the Ioniq (regardless of how he or she feels about EVs in general), it won’t help entice him or her, either.

Still, for those who want an EV and are on a tight budget, or those who are comparing the Ioniq EV to similarly priced internal-combustion engine vehicles or hybrids, the deal could be a sweetener.