April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor  is planning to release an electric vehicle with a driving range of 390 kilometers in the first half of next year, a company official said on May 31. 

“We plan to unveil an EV that runs 390 kilometers on a single charge by 2018,” Choi Woo-suk, director and head of environment technology test development center at Hyundai Motor told reporters at a forum. “The new EV will be a compact SUV.”

When released, Hyundai’s new car is expected to have the longest driving range in the EV market, outpacing its current rivals Chevrolet Bolt EV that delivers the longest-range of 383 kilometers and Tesla Model S with 378 kilometers. Hyundai’s own Ioniq EV delivers 191 kilometers, while its smaller affiliate Kia Motors’ Soul offers 148 kilometers. 

The upcoming EV will likely share the automaker’s Kona compact SUV platform, equipped with at least 60 kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack to deliver the long-range, an increase from the 320 kilometers that Hyundai had announced earlier this year. 

SK Innovation may provide batteries for the new EV, on top of Hyundai’s current supplier LG Chem, according to Choi. 

The automaker is also mulling to add an EV version of its luxury Genesis marque. “We expect to release the Genesis EV after 2020,” Choi said.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)