Photo: Hyundai
Even though it looked as though Hyundai was going down the hydrogen fuel cell route in the global quest for alternative propulsion systems that's running wild in the automaking industry, it has made a strong claim in the field of battery-powered vehicles as well.
When read off the brochure, the specs of the Hyundai Ioniq Electric appear to be quite underwhelming. The EV has a 28 kWh battery pack and an 88 kW electric motor that work together for a maximum zero emissions range of just 124-miles (200 km), according to EPA.
What sets the Ioniq Electric apart, though, is that these apparently modest numbers are actually enough to make the Hyundai the most efficient electric vehicle on the market. And when it comes to EVs, efficiency isn't just one of those numbers you have to throw in there because the authorities asked: buyers actually care about it.
And Hyundai isn't stopping here. Ahn Byung-ki, Hyundai's eco-vehicle performance group director, said that "124 is not enough, and we have a plan to extend that to more than 200 by 2018." While the Kona crossover is slated for a 2017 debut, its electric version should come one year later. Connecting the dots has neve been easier.
The German print magazine Autobild goes one step further and also claims to know the approximate price the future Kona Electric will have: €35,000, which translates to roughly $39,000. For an electric SUV (albeit a small one) with an EPA-rated range of over 200 miles, that's quite attractive. Bear in mind the Chevrolet Bolt is $37,500 before incentives, and Korean models tend to have plenty equipment as standard.
The German journalists say the battery pack will have a capacity of over 50 kWh, which is ambiguous enough to sound like nothing more than a guess - no matter how efficient the Hyundai electric powertrain is, a car that size can't get 200+ miles of range out of a battery smaller than that.
The Hyundai Kona Electric will be joined by its sibling from Kia, the Niro Electric, which should share the same powertrain. Both cars are expected to break cover sometime during next year, fulfilling Ahn Byung-ki's prophecy for 2018 as long as they nail the EPA 200-mile range.
What sets the Ioniq Electric apart, though, is that these apparently modest numbers are actually enough to make the Hyundai the most efficient electric vehicle on the market. And when it comes to EVs, efficiency isn't just one of those numbers you have to throw in there because the authorities asked: buyers actually care about it.
And Hyundai isn't stopping here. Ahn Byung-ki, Hyundai's eco-vehicle performance group director, said that "124 is not enough, and we have a plan to extend that to more than 200 by 2018." While the Kona crossover is slated for a 2017 debut, its electric version should come one year later. Connecting the dots has neve been easier.
The German print magazine Autobild goes one step further and also claims to know the approximate price the future Kona Electric will have: €35,000, which translates to roughly $39,000. For an electric SUV (albeit a small one) with an EPA-rated range of over 200 miles, that's quite attractive. Bear in mind the Chevrolet Bolt is $37,500 before incentives, and Korean models tend to have plenty equipment as standard.
The German journalists say the battery pack will have a capacity of over 50 kWh, which is ambiguous enough to sound like nothing more than a guess - no matter how efficient the Hyundai electric powertrain is, a car that size can't get 200+ miles of range out of a battery smaller than that.
The Hyundai Kona Electric will be joined by its sibling from Kia, the Niro Electric, which should share the same powertrain. Both cars are expected to break cover sometime during next year, fulfilling Ahn Byung-ki's prophecy for 2018 as long as they nail the EPA 200-mile range.
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