Dodge Doubles Down on EV Muscle, KIA and Hyundai will make EV’s in the USA.
A V8 rumble lives on in Dodge EVs, and Kia/Hyundai jump on board the Made in America bandwagon.
One big change that EV’s bring to the market is their tremendous reduction in noise. For luxury cars, this is a good thing. But for muscle cars? It’s almost a death sentence. Dodge knows this, which is why they chose the Charger Daytona SRT concept as the flagship model that will push their EV tech forward. We’ve all heard the car on it’s debut by now, but it’ll be different by the time it hits showrooms.
According to MotorTrend, the V8 noises made by this car are obviously artificial, but Dodge is ensuring they seem authentic. Tim Kuniskis, Dodge CEO, had a few things about the sound of this EV that were “non-negotiable. The idle had to be perfect, and he says “it literally has the cadence of the Hemi [V-8] firing order so we knew that it was right.”
They have 126 decibels out of the machine already, which is stout, and it’s all sent through an actual piped system. But making an EV sound modern with a “screaming electric motor” is a task we’re eager to see them accomplish. Besides, from the push of a button you can likely get a wide array of engine sounds once the technology appears!
South Korea’s Kia and Hyundai commit to EV manufacturing in the USA.
The new US laws that outline tax rebates for EV cars seem to be helping car manufacturers commit to more US based manufacturing plants. According to GreenCarReports, Kia’s line of EV’s will be built along side their Hyundai counterparts in Georgia.
Hyundai, the parent company to Kia has already broken ground on a plant in Savanna, Georgia. Kia’s lineup of EV’s will have a US base, allowing them to take advantage of the tax brakes.
Location of the battery plant that will supply the manufacturing facility is yet to be named. But in order to take advantage of the full tax rebate, it’ll best serve the manufacturing plant if it is local. It’ll also allow the car to receive full tax credits, which is important for Kia and Hyundai’s line of cars.
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Photos courtesy of MotorTrend, GreenCarReports