Hyundai Kona EV is expected to have a driving range of around 350 km using 39 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) has big plans for this year as a slew of new launches are being lined up. It begins with the Venue sub-four-metre SUV that will be going on sale on May 21 to compete against Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra XUV300.
The new generation Grand i10 is also in the pipeline for market debut by festive season while the facelifted Elantra is also expected during the later part of this year. Hyundai has a substantial presence in the global electric car segment and has recently been expanding its portfolio for future sustainability.
As part of showcasing its technological advancements, the South Korean auto major will be introducing the electrified variant of the Kona SUV during the second half of 2019. Hyundai displayed the Nexo FCEV at the India-Korean Business Summit in New Delhi in 2018 while the Kona EV broke covers domestically at the MOVE Summit before featuring at the Brilliant kids Motor Show 2018.
The production of the Kona EV will kick start in the coming months at the brand’s Sriperumbudur facility near Chennai ahead of the official launch. Back in January 2019, Hyundai announced an investment of Rs. 7,000 crore on its manufacturing base in Tamil Nadu and a portion of it will go to the zero-emission Kona.
In the international markets, the Kona EV is sold with two battery configurations and India will most likely get the lower capacity 39 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack with a claimed driving range of 350 km on a single charge and using a fast charger, the charging time reduces drastically to just around 60 minutes.
The top speed of the Kona EV with this particular configuration is 155 kmph and the instant surge provided by the e-SUV helps to cover zero to 100 kmph in just under 10 seconds. Hyundai may consider exporting the Kona EV at a later stage but its initial response is key for everything. It will reportedly be retailed in limited numbers initially with a price tag of around Rs. 25 lakh (ex-showroom).