Hyundai's 80 kW four-seater i-oniq electric sports hatchback picture gallery

This is similar to the Volt drive train and I would have to say must be inferior to that of the Prius.
Using an engine to charge the batteries may be simpler and cheaper to produce than the Prius (where the engine can directly drive the wheels), but is very inefficient for powering the car on a long trip.

And such a beautiful, happy design.

Stephen, the Volt will use much less gas for an average person, most people drive 29 miles or less per day, something the Volt does with 0 gallons of gas. Last month I drove my Volt 891 miles and used 1.9 gallons - 469 MPG equivalent, the Prius can't touch that. My lifetime avg (6 months) is at 272 MPG equivalent, no normal hybrid can ever hope to achieve that.
Let's say you take two 500 mile trips per year. Prius - 10.0 gallons (@ 50 MPG), Volt - 12.1 gallons (40 EV, 38 MPG). So that's 4.2 gallons extra on two trips, which will be more than offset by commuting in a Volt without using any gas at all on weekdays.

It will be interesting to see how the "overall" efficiency figures compare to Prius & others!
Using the engine to (only) charge the batteries should have some weight advantage due to less complex drivetrain, along with allowing the gasoline engine to operate in a narrower more optimal/efficent range of power output.
Were any details of cost/production timetables released?

Actually, the Volt's gasoline engine is tied into the transmission, as are two (yes, two) electric motors, and has five different operating modes. Gm tried to create a serial hybrid, and failed. The mess that resulted is much more complicated than the Prius, and the gasoline engine is inadequate. A traditional blower heater unit is missing, with seat heating providing most of the environmental support. As a result, your tail's warm, while your hands freeze. As with the Prius, turning on the air conditioning pretty quickly results in gasoline engine only operation. For most people, the new Mazdas are a better buy.

Efficiency is important, but if a car can't cross a certain cost threshold it is of little value. You pay at the pump and/or you pay at the bank. Its the total cost that counts.
I have yet to see an electric car that holds up to a good $12K compact car in total cost, even with $5/gallon gas. Still, it is good to make these things and pay for the research and development so they can get the cost down to that needed point, but I wouldn't expect any significant volume of sales until that point is reached. (see Chevy Volt's trouble)
For now I'll keep driving my 20MPG (paid for) Trans-Am and keep saving money. If gas gets to high, perhaps I'll look for an efficient all gas car, but the electrics and even hybrids just don't cut it right now for real value. Some day....

Hyundai execs: stop f'ing around with concept cars, and moping behind the other manufacturers and build this thing; then ship me two.

rubley: Do the math. You will have to own your volt for TWELVE YEARS to break even on the premium you paid over the ICE version. I hope you really, really enjoy driving an EV. I've been waiting 25 years for a practical EV. I may die waiting. So be it. You can fund the research, not me.

looks beautiful, Only puzzled by the hatch window.. what's the point of that?
I'd love to see a 2 door, 3 seater bench, true hatchback EV that looks like this or the honda CRZ. Something with plenty of hatch cargo space and 3 across seating. Second row seating in these cars is somewhat of a joke IMO, so why bother.
Anyways, they should man up and do it already.

Nice, but I'm still waiting for a decent-sized, $30,000, all-electric, 4wd minivan that performs like a Tesla with a range of about 400 miles.