NEW DELHI: South Korean auto major Hyundai launched India’s first fully electric Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Kona Electric, priced at Rs 25.30 lakh (ex-showroom across India) on Tuesday. Kona will be sold by 14 dealers in 11 cities.
According to Hyundai, once fully charged, the SUV can run 452 km (ARAI certified). However, in real conditions, it can do an excess of 300 km. It is powered by an advanced lithium-ion battery with 39.2kWh capacity and goes 0-100 kmph in 9.7 seconds. The company, which is present in the country through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd, is also planning to develop a mass market EV for India to add to its newly launched full-electric SUV Kona.
“We have seen some positive development in the form of tax incentives on the purchase of EVs as provided in the Budget, but we think more can be done by the government to accelerate the adoption of EVs in India,” Hyundai Motor India’s MD and CEO S S Kim told news agency PTI. Kim said that currently, EVs are extremely expensive, which require economies of scale to make them affordable for mass adoption.