Hyundai Unveils its All-Electric SUV Kona

The Korean carmaker Hyundai has unveiled today, its first electric SUV Kona for the Indian EV fans soon after the Indian Finance minister tabled the budget for the FY 2019-20 in the parliament.

The Hyundai Kona Electric’s prices starts at ₹ 25.30 lakh (ex-showroom, pan India). In a bold move this became the first ever fully-electric SUV to be launched in India by Hyundai. Hyundai Kona joins the SUV line-up of Hyundai that includes Venue, Creta, and the Tucson.

Puneet Anand, Senior GM & Group Head – Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “The Kona Electric has been conceptualized with a unique and distinctive styling while maximizing Electric Range & having excellent driving performance. With the Longest Driving Range on a Single Charge (452* km) coupled with Electrifying Performance we can say that a Kona Electric owner can drive from Rohini in Delhi to Amritsar in a single charge, which has never been imagined by customers in Indian EV scenario. With India’s First Fully Electric SUV, Kona Electric, our objective is to redefine the Electric Mobility Experience of every customer realizing our commitment of being lifetime partner in automobile and beyond for a sustainable and green future.”

The Hyundai Kona Electric will come in India through CBU (completely built units) initially and can be assembled at Hyundai’s Chennai plant later. Hyundai is also exploring the option to source EV components locally to keep the costs low.

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Globally, the Kona Electric gets two battery options, which are a 39.2 kWh unit and a 64 kWh unit, however, the Indian variant will only get the former, which offers a certified range of 452 kilometers on a single charge. The battery can be fully charged in seven to eight hours and using a fast-charger can charge the battery up to 80 percent in under an hour. Hyundai customers will be provided with a portable charger and an AC wall box charger. The portable charger will be able to plug into any three-pin 15 Amp socket and charge for a top up to 50 km in less than three hours. The 7.2 kW wall box charger can top up the vehicle within one hour of running up to 50 km.

The Kona Electric in India will get a 100 kW motor which sends power to the front wheels and the output is equivalent of 131 bhp and 395 Nm of peak torque. The India-spec car can sprint from 0-100 kmph in 9.7 seconds, which makes it quite quick for an SUV.

The Hyundai Kona comes loaded with features like 17.7 cm floating touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated and ventilated seats, sunroof and more.

As for safety features, it gets six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC, blind spot detection, hill-start assist, reverse camera, TPMS. The Kona Electric gets four drive modes – Eco, Eco Plus, Comfort and Sport.

Hyundai India is offering 3 years/ unlimited kilometers vehicle warranty and 3 years/ 160,000 kilometers battery warranty.

Hyundai will install fast chargers in all-electric selling dealerships. There will be Kona Electric support vehicles in select cities for emergency charging. Hyundai has tied up with Map My India to display Kona Electric compatible charging stations in HMIL website and app. Hyundai has partnered with IOCL to install chargers at select fuel pumps across India.