So in the absence of any significant advance in the field of hydrogen fuel cell technology, car makers dig deeper into the world of electric motoring and hybrid motors. And none does it more heavily than Hyundai, it turns out. They just announced the 2016 Hyundai IONIQ which comes with three green powertrain choices.

You get a pure electric system, a plug-ing hybrid, and an old-fashioned hybrid. The latter seems a redundant, because if you are having a hybrid you might as well make it a plug-in. At any rate, the launch of Hyundai IONIQ next year is another indication of how fast times are a-changing and how hard car makers have to try just to adapt.

But Hyundai IONIQ is not going to be a boring Prius-like car, according to the company’s brass. They say the name itself shows how fun and attractive the car is going to be. They must have raked the bottom of whimsy pot to come up with the name IONIQ, which is made up by combing ion, an electrically-charged atom hinting at the electric powertrain, and unique.

As for the powertrains Hyundai IONIQ will come with, numbers are yet to be revealed, but the EV version has a high capacity, ultra-efficient lithium ion battery. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version combines fuel-efficient energy with battery power obtained by charging the car with electricity, boosting its range while cutting its emissions. Finally, the hybrid (HEV) utilizes the petrol engine and motion of the car to charge the on-board battery.