Hyundai Unveils Its EV

For Hyundai Motors, it seems like filling the void. The void of entry into electric cars segment. We have of late seen or heard most of the car makers, if not all, join the electric car manufacturing band wagon. Hyundai it looks as if, a strong believer in the adage ‘Make hay while sunshine’.

Hyundai Korea has just done the much speculated thing. After a quick heart transplant in its existing and popular small car i10, the guys in Hyundai have brought out the new Electric Vehicle (EV). This creation will most certainly star in the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month. We hear that the guys in Hyundai Motors have been slogging day in and day out on this project.

Hyundai i10, a small car and a hatch back will be positioned as an example of electric urban or city vehicle. It is said that the Hyundai i10 EV comes with a 66 bhp electric motor powered by a 16 kwh lithium-ion battery. The battery cells are provided by LG Chem. Driving range is 145 kilometers and top speed is 133 kph. 0 to 60 time is a rather leisurely 15 seconds. Hyundai also has added an intrinsic liquid thermal management system in the battery which makes the car charge upto 85 per cent in 15-minutes flat at 413 V. How cool is that?

But Hyundai has borrowed a leaf from GM Volt’s story and is leasing a low volume fleet in Korea in 2010 to understand the psyche of the people and probably would go into global production in 2012. Hyundai says that the battery cost would be above the sky limit for anybody to own at the moment forcing Hyundai will offer these vehicles as lease-only for the foreseeable future. In fact, the price of the pack is greater than the cost of an entire conventional gas-powered i10.

Now for the price update you’ll have been eagerly looking in this blog for. Ladies and Gentlemen, Hyundai i10 EV’s 16 kwh battery pack itself costs, Hold our breath, 10,000 euro. Ok, allow us to translate this complicated currency with our own. It roughly could read something like Rs. 7,00,000. Alright that might sound affordable to you, but we are being polite in reminding you it is just the cost of the battery pack and the whole car could actually cost a bomb.

But since, Hyundai has had at least the courtesy of admitting the battery pack cost of their Electric Vehicle, we also think that GM Volt’s battery cost also should be hovering around in that price range since they also use the same supplier ‘s cells and also have the intrinsic temperature management system.

Ah Guys, We also would like to add something else before we forget. This car though a hybrid in itself, the energy consumption is awesome. Hyundai i10 returns with a mind-blowing mileage of 7.8 miles per kwh. The Volt achieves 5 miles per kwh. Way to go Hyundai. It seems like Koreans can teach a lesson or two in conserving that precious energy.

For us Indians, we should be glad that we have Hyundai’s i10 doing rounds here in India. So we know that it surely would be in Indian shores sometime soon after the global production of the EV kicks off. We also are staunch believers in the adage ‘Better late than never’.