Hyundai Motor Group’s next all electric car will be a Kia SUV launched next year. This will follow the Hyundai i10-based BlueOn hatchback, recently unveiled, which will be sold in Korea later this year.
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“We plan to produce 2,000 electric vehicles based on Kia’s upcoming cross utility vehicles (CUVs), and 500 BlueOns by 2012,” Hong John-hee, director of Hyundai Motor’s electric vehicle development group, told Reuters. All of the 2,500 cars will be powered by SK Energy’s batteries, he added.
Hyundai plans to sell those vehicles only to government organisations in Korea by 2012, a Hyundai spokesman said. Commercial sales will start in 2013 but which models will be sold in which markets has not been decided. “There is a high possibility that the CUV model will be sold to the general customers starting in 2013,” he added.
Kia plans to introduce a petrol CUV in September 2011 and Hyundai plans to launch an electric version of the model in December that year.
The electric CUV can run 130km on a single charge, Hong said. The BlueOn can travel 140km on one charge.
He also expected prices of electric car batteries would fall “faster than expected,” without elaborating.
