Hyundai’s redesigned Elantra Hybrid is gaining horsepower without losing its fuel-economy edge, according to specifications tied to the car’s Korean-market debut — a combination that’s unusual when an automaker adds power to a hybrid. The new car, sold in South Korea as the Avante Hybrid ahead of a planned U.S. arrival, pairs a 1.6-liter direct-injection engine with a stronger electric motor for a combined 155 horsepower, up from 139 horsepower in the outgoing U.S.-spec Elantra Hybrid, per Hyundai’s published specifications for the current model and reporting tied to the redesigned car’s Korean launch.

Key Points

• Combined output climbs from 139 hp to roughly 155 hp on the redesigned model’s Korean-market drivetrain.
• The outgoing U.S. Elantra Hybrid carries an EPA rating of 51 mpg city / 58 mpg highway / 54 mpg combined, according to Hyundai’s own published figures.
• Hyundai is targeting roughly a 10% combined fuel-economy improvement on the redesigned model despite the added power, though final U.S. EPA figures have not been certified yet.
• The battery pack grows from 1.32 kWh to 1.49 kWh, and the car switches to a 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission in place of the outgoing continuously variable transmission.
• The redesigned Elantra is already on sale in South Korea, starting around KRW 30.42 million; Hyundai has signaled a U.S. launch for early 2027, according to Kelley Blue Book.

How Hyundai Is Pulling Off Both Gains at Once

The horsepower increase comes from two places: the gasoline engine itself now makes about 104 hp on its own, up slightly from before, and the electric motor grows to 45 kW (60 hp) with more torque than the outgoing unit, according to figures tied to the car’s Korean release. Larger batteries typically add weight that can offset efficiency gains, but Hyundai paired the bigger 1.49 kWh pack with updated regenerative-braking software that the automaker says recovers more energy under braking than the outgoing system, per specifications shared around the car’s debut.

What’s Still Unconfirmed for U.S. Buyers

Hyundai has not published EPA-certified city, highway, or combined mpg numbers for the U.S.-spec redesigned Elantra Hybrid, and the Korean-market horsepower figures may shift slightly once the car is tuned to meet U.S. emissions and fuel-economy standards. Kelley Blue Book reports Hyundai has not released U.S. pricing either, with more details expected to surface as the car approaches its early-2027 on-sale date.

If the efficiency gains hold up once EPA testing is complete, the redesigned Elantra Hybrid would extend Hyundai’s recent pattern of squeezing more power out of small hybrid drivetrains without the usual mileage trade-off — a formula the brand has also leaned on with larger hybrid models in its lineup.