Hyundai Motor said its joint venture “Iona,” which was established with seven other automakers to build a North American electric vehicle charging network, held an opening ceremony at its headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, and began operating a charging station in earnest.
In addition to North Carolina, it has also opened new charging stations in Houston, Texas, Abilene, Kansas, and Wilcox, Arizona, and is currently building six more.
Ionna said it has signed contracts for more than 100 charging stations across the U.S. since its launch in February last year. It also explained that it has carried out 4,400 recharges in 80 vehicle models since late last year after going through a rigorous testing phase. Iona plans to install more than 1,000 chargers across the U.S. by the end of this year.
Starting in the first quarter of this year, IONNA will provide automated ordering and pickup services based on artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor convergence technology at some charging station convenience stores. This is an unmanned store service developed in cooperation with Amazon that allows you to purchase drinks, simple foods and necessities at retail stores 24 hours a day.
“IONNA will provide AI-powered smart path optimization, in-vehicle payments, and other convenience features in the future,” the company said, adding, “It will be the most feature-rich charging network in the United States.”
Ionna is a joint venture established by Hyundai Motor and Kia to build an electric vehicle charging network in North America by major global automakers such as BMW, General Motors (GM), Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Toyota.
While U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla currently occupies about two-thirds of all fast charging stations in the U.S., charging alliances such as Hyundai Motor are expected to reduce some of their dependence on Tesla charging stations.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
