President Park Geun-hye and Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (second from left) visit the carmaker’s Ioniq Electric production line Friday in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. (Yonhap)
JEJUDO ISLAND -- South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor unveiled its electric vehicle in the lineup of its green car brand Ioniq during the 3rd International Electric Vehicle Expo that opened in Korea’s southern resort island on Friday.
“Eco-friendly and highly fuel-efficient models are becoming key factors in the future vehicle market,” Hyundai Motor executive vice president Kwak Jin said during the launch of the Ioniq Electric at the expo.
“Ioniq Electric, boasting the longest range among local electric cars, is able to travel around the entire Jejudo Island on a single charge,” Kwak said.
Hyundai’s new carbon-free car is able to run up to 180 kilometers on a single charge thanks to its high-capacity lithium-ion polymer battery with a storage capacity of 27 kilowatt-hours. Running only on batteries and electric motors, the vehicle has peak performance of 88 kilowatts and maximum torque of 295 newton-meters.
To completely charge, it takes four hours and 25 minutes, with fast-charging taking just 25 minutes to fill the battery up to 80 percent.
Hyundai said Ioniq Electric uses diverse energy-saving technologies, such as its individual ventilation system, which provides air conditioning and heating only for the driver’s seats to reduce unnecessary energy consumption. It also has a recovery brake system, which reuses some of the vehicle’s kinetic energy.
“Under the government’s plan to distribute 200,000 electric cars by 2020, we are aiming to take up more than 50 percent share in the domestic electric car market,” said Ryu Chang-sung, director of the domestic marketing group at Hyundai Motor.
By Shin Ji-hye (
shinjh@heraldcorp.com)