Aptera driver-assist tech, 2024 Sonata design, used Tesla prices plunge: Today’s Car News
Prices on used EV have fallen dramatically, and the Tesla Model 3 leads the way. Aptera is the first to use open-source-based Openpilot for driver-assist tech. LG plans a mammoth Arizona plant. And Hyundai previewed the new look of the 2024 Sonata Hybrid.
Hyundai has revealed the design of the 2024 Sonata—Hybrid included—and it’s more than a simple facelift. A new face is a better fit for the car’s aerodynamic profile, which carries over, and inside the shift to a steering-column shift lever helps maximize space. The rest of the car’s details will be revealed later this week.
Aptera’s three-wheel solar EV will be the first factory vehicle to use Openpilot driver-assistance software, as well as Aptera-specific code that will allow stop-sign and red-light recognition and a “navigate on Openpilot” feature. That may serve well as a highway-trip companion, given the company’s decision to add DC fast-charging to the 400-mile Launch Edition.
LG Energy Solution announced a $5.5 billion battery factory in Arizona—the largest battery-making investment in the U.S. yet, according to the company. The plant will make cylindrical cells for EVs, as well as LFP pouch cells bound for energy storage systems.
And while prices on used vehicles of all kinds have fallen sharply in recent months, the Tesla Model 3 has led the nosedive of used EV prices. Model 3 prices are down 21.5% since September 2022, reported iSeeCars—the greatest decline in a study of used-vehicle listing prices. It appears to be the flip side of a surge in EV prices that reached a fever pitch in late 2021 and early 2022.
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