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Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on Tuesday launched the country’s first fully electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) — Kona Electric — priced at ₹25.30 lakh (ex-showroom across India).
The Kona Electric will offer youthful design, sporty driving and advanced technology, offering 452 km per charge (under test conditions by the ARAI), the company said.
In another first, Hyundai is also providing road-side assistance to charge the Kona Electric. A special Kona Electric fitted with a power converter will provide emergency charging support to customers in select cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai), the company said. Additionally, HMIL has tied up with MapMyIndia to display compatabile EV charging stations on the HMIL website and the mobile app.
A pricey option
Many of the existing EVs in the country today — including Mahindra & Mahindra’s eVerito and Tata Motor’s eTigor — run 110-140 km per charge, and do not provide for emergency charging.
However, Hyundai Kona will also be the most expensive passenger EV in the Indian market. EVs like eVerito and eTigor are priced at ₹10-10.50 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Kona is powered by advanced lithium-ion battery with 39.2kWh and will go from 0 to 100 kmph in 9.7 seconds, the company said.
“We are committed to the government’s vision of shared, connected, and clean mobility. Hyundai is leading the future mobility solutions globally, and will bring in the most relevant technology in the clean mobility space in the Indian market. The launch of India’s first fully electric SUV Kona will be a revolutionary and a definitive forward move to change the perspective towards electric cars altogether,” SS Kim, MD and CEO, HMIL, said here at the launch.
Kona Electric has received worldwide recognition and will be the most conducive e-vehicle for the Indian market, he said.
“The electric SUV showcases strengths of its SUV model combined with advanced innovative technology of an electric powertrain,” he added.
Tie-up with Indian Oil
The company said 80 per cent charge can be achieved in 57 minutes with a DC quick charger using the CCS Type-II charging port, while it will take six hours and 10 minutes to charge with a 7.2-kW Level-II charger.
For enable quick charging, Hyundai is working with with Indian Oil to develop infrastructure at select fuel stations in select cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai).
HMIL will invest on the equipment and installation of these fast chargers (CCS Type-Single port).
These chargers can charge 80 per cent of the battery capacity in less than an hour.
HMIL is also offering its Kona Electric customers a warranty for three years (unlimited km), or a warranty for eight years (up to 1.60 lakh km) for its high-voltage battery.
According to analysts, the Indian electric-car market will see a spate of launches in the near future.
For instance, the MG eZS is due in September, and the Audi e-Tron is expected around the festive season.
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