Hyundai Motor has presented its first electric vehicle, called BlueOn, at the residence of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Based on the automaker’s small i10 hatchback, the car is equipped with a 16.4 kWh lithium-polymer battery pack. So far, the company hasn’t announced other details about the battery.
Hyundai has invested about $34.3 million, during one year, to create the car. The company also plans to deliver 30 full-speed electric vehicles to various South Korean government agencies by the end of October and to produce other 2,500 units by 2012.
“We are proud to introduce the world to BlueOn, which was fully developed in Korea and displays Hyundai’s latest technological advancements,” said Lee Hyun-Soon, vice chairman at the automaker’s research and development center.
Hyundai BlueOn has a top speed of 80.6 mph and is capable to reach 100 kph in 13.1 seconds. Besides this, the car has an autonomy of approximately 140 kilometers on a single charge.
It seems that Hyundai has already enough rivals in this field. One of them is the Japanese manufacturer, Mitsubishi Motors Corp., which has already started production of the iMiEV electric while Nissan Motor Co. plans to mass produce its Leaf electric by the end of this year.
[Source: HuffingtonPost]
