Hyundai Kona electric will act as a technology showcase for the brand and is expected to be sold in limited numbers
The future of the automobiles is moving towards electric cars. While many European and North American countries have started adopting electric cars pretty widely, the Indian market is also targetting to become an electric car-friendly nation in the future.
Hyundai will soon launch its first-ever electric car in the Indian market in 2019 and it will be the Kona EV. Hyundai has not officially announced the launch date of the Kona EV in the Indian market but it is expected to be launched around August 2019.
Hyundai will launch the Kona EV as a halo product to showcase its technological superiority in the market and will not target a high sales number from the electric SUV. It will be a Completely Knocked Down (CKD) product and assembled at Hyundai’s Chennai factory in India. Even so, the cost of the Kona EV would be quite high and it is expected to carry a price tag of around Rs. 25 lakhs when launched.
Hyundai is likely to power the all-new SUV with a 39.2 kWh battery pack that will be able to propel the SUV to about 312 km on a full charge. The battery pack will power an electric motor that generates a maximum of 135 PS and a peak torque of 395 Nm. Internationally, Hyundai also offers a 64 kWh variant that has a range of 470 km and has an increased power of 204 PS.
However, the higher powered battery pack would increase the cost of the vehicle, which in turn, could negatively affect the sales of the car in the price-sensitive Indian market. Hyundai will also work to develop a nation-wide charging network before launching the Kona and partner with many third-party service providers for the same.
Hyundai will install high-powered, quick-charging stations at various locations in the country including its own dealerships. There are no direct competitors of the Hyundai Kona and it will be launched to see the market response.