In August 2010, Hyundai Motor Company will launch a mass-market electric vehicle, a modified zero-emission version of the existing Hyundai i10 mini-car. The Korean government and industry insiders said on January 7, "The Ministry of Knowledge and Economy is to purchase 30 i10 electric vehicles by October of this year. "
The electric avatar of the Hyundai i10, categorized as a city car, can travel 180-200km on a single charge. The Ministry plans to use i10 electric vehicles for official purposes, and 7-8 of which will be operated by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
The charging plug of the i10 electric vehicle is patterned after that of the U.S., a major export market for Korean car manufacturers. At the moment, the U.S. and Japan use the same electric plug system while the EU has a different one. The price of an electric car goes for more than KRW200 million. The plug-in i10 will be powered by a lithium-ion battery, which is provided courtesy of LG Chem.
Under the assumption that the production of 100,000 electric vehicles would make the electric car project commercially viable, The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, South Korea's largest automobile manufacturer, is mulling over a date for full production.
