Korean automaker Hyundai is getting ready to take direct aim at the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid with its scheduled-to-launch-in-2013 Hyundai i30 gas-electric with a plug, according to a report from German news outlet Auto Motor und Sport.
Word is Hyundai’s first-ever mass-produced plug-in hybrid – to be based on the recently unveiled i30 – will debut in late 2012, with its European launch scheduled for sometime in 2013. Auto Motor und Sport reports that when it hits, the hybridized i30 will become Europe’s cheapest plug-in gas-electric, undercutting the less-than-£26,000-after-rebate price of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid in the UK (that’s $40,435 U.S. at today’s exchange rate).
At this time, no further details on the i30 plug-in hybrid have surfaced and Hyundai has not confirmed the development, launch schedule or pricing for this plugged-in compact hatchback. Still, if this is a trial balloon, we like the way it’s floating.
