CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday flagged off KONA Electric, India’s first fully-electric SUV manufactured by Hyundai Motor India Limited. The CM, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and State Ministers Kadambur Raju and MC Sampath took a test drive of the car for some distance around the Secretariat. Kona Electric is part of Hyundai Motor India’s commitment to invest Rs 7,000 crore in Tamil Nadu and the MoU was signed in this regard at the second Global Investors Meet in January.
The Kona EV for India comes with a 39.2kWh battery which has an ARAI-certified range of 452 km on a single charge, that is, one can travel from Chennai to Madurai on a single charge.“We provide two chargers along with the car. One for charging the battery with normal plug point. With the special charger, the battery could be charged within five hours.
We are also planning to put up special charges in malls, parking stations, and cinema halls, where the battery could be charged within 50 minutes. For providing charging facility, Hyundai is working along with the IOCL to develop infrastructure at select fuel stations in select cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai,” a Hyundai official told reporters at the Secretariat.
The Tamil Nadu government will be releasing its Electric Vehicle Policy next month and we expect some concessions for the electric cars, the official added. “Since it is a luxury vehicle, we have introduced 25 new facilities including regenerative braking, ventilator seating, etc. The Kona Electric would be available with a warranty for three years and unlimited km, along with a warranty for eight years and upto 1,60,000 km for its high-voltage battery,” said Hyundai personnel.