Hyundai Building 200-Plus Mile Range Electric Kona
Hyundai isn’t sitting on its electric laurels with just one EV.
In addition to the recently launched electric Ioniq, it looks like an electric SUV is on the way with north of 200-miles real-world range.
The news comes from AutoBild, via PushEVs. They’ve reported that there will be an electric version of Hyundai’s new Kona compact crossover. The new electric crossover will get a larger than 50 kilowatt-hour battery. That would give Hyundai the only small electric crossover – at least until the also-expected Kia version arrives. The electric Kona is reportedly scheduled for the fall of next year.
SEE ALSO: Hyundai Kona Basically Revealed in Latest Teaser Images
The report gives a forecast range of 310 miles (500 km). It didn’t say which driving cycle that meant, but it could be the European NEDC cycle. That cycle gives a longer range than the U.S. EPA. The original report also mentions a 217 mile (350 km) average range. The 217-mile figure is likely closer to the EPA figure the vehicle would achieve, but again, this is conjecture.
Hyundai executives have already said that the company planned to have a 200 mile EV by 2018. Some had assumed that the claim meant that a longer-range Ioniq electric was on the way. It now looks like that it may have been referring to this new electric Kona, and not an Ioniq.
A version of this story originally appeared on HybridCars
Discuss this story on our Hyundai Kona Forum
Evan moved from engineering to automotive journalism 10 years ago (it turns out cars are more interesting than fibreglass pipes), but has been following the auto industry for his entire life. Evan is an award-winning automotive writer and photographer and is the current President of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. You'll find him behind his keyboard, behind the wheel, or complaining that tiny sports cars are too small for his XXXL frame.
More by Evan Williams
Comments
Join the conversation