JEJUDO ISLAND -- Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest automaker, unveiled its pure electric vehicle version of Ioniq, the company’s first dedicated eco-car platform, at the 3rd International Electric Vehicle Expo in Jejudo Island on Friday.
“Ioniq Electric boasts of the longest range among electric cars on the road and advanced driving performance,” the Korean automaker said in a press release.
Hyundai Motor's Ioniq Electric (Hyundai Motor)
Hyundai’s first pure electric car is able to travel up to 180 kilometers on a single charge due to its high-capacity lithium-ion polymer battery that has a storage capacity of 27 kilowatt-hour.
“Ioniq Electric is able to travel around the entire island on a single charge,” Hyundai Motor executive vice president Kwak Jin said during the launch of the Ioniq EV at the expo.
Running only on batteries and electric motors, the vehicle has peak performance of 88 kilowatts and maximum torque of 295 newton-meter.
To completely charge the vehicle, it takes four hours and 25 minutes, but it takes just 25 minutes under the fast-charging system.
The car comes in two trims -- premium Q and general N. The Q trim costs 43 million won ($37,000), while the N trim costs 40 million won. With the government’s subsidies and tax breaks, the price of the Ioniq EV can be reduced to 24 million won for the Q trim and 21 million won for the N trim.
The Korean government plans to offer financial support to 8,000 electric cars this year.
“The company has set a goal of taking up more than 60 percent of the entire electric vehicles supplied this year with the Ioniq Electric,” the executive said. This projection was made based on the preorders this month. The higher stake, however, might not be achievable as the company can only start sales from June.
In its attempt to expand its base for electric vehicles, Hyundai will capitalize on expanding charging infrastructure.
“The company has a plan to install electric vehicle charging stations at Hyundai’s service centers nationwide and to offer diverse services for Ioniq Electric owners.
At the initial stages, Hyundai will install 11 charging stations at its 18 service centers in Jejudo Island, a global test bed for electric vehicles.
The company will eventually increase the number of charging stations to 800 nationwide.
The automaker has also unveiled a comfort program exclusively designed for Ioniq Electric drivers to address charging and discharging issues. The program offers a one-stop service, which includes installation and maintenance of charging facilities, as well as mobile services informing drivers of the nearest charging stations.
“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 Korean EV market,” said Ryu Chang-sung, director of the domestic marketing group at Hyundai Motor.
By Shin Ji-hye
(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)