As per the report by Autocar, Hyundai Motors and Kia are continuing with the CKD and CBU routes to sell their EVs in India.
Electric Cars by Kia and Hyundai Motors by 2024
The much-awaited Kona electric facelift is expected to be launched in 2022 and it will be a CKD unit. However, Kia will bring the more advanced Kia EV6 via the CBU route to India in the same year. While Hyundai will launch the Ioniq 5 as a CBU unit in 2023, Kia will launch the Most affordable e-Niro as a CKD unit in the same year.
Like the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta, both the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 will share the same platform. The same will apply to the Kia e-Niro and Hyundai Kona Electric.
The Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5 will be based on the company’s first dedicated platform called the EV, dubbed E-GMP, which means electric-global modular platform.
Compared to the Kona Electric or e-Niro, these ground-up electric cars will have many advantages such as efficient aerodynamic structure and compact battery pack.
Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 5 Specifcaitions
The base variants of the EV6 and Ioniq 5 have a 2WD setup with a 58kWh battery pack that offers a proven range of 370 km. There is also a longer-range model with a 72.6 kWh battery pack that offers a certified range of 481 km. While the 2WD version can go from 0 to 100kph in 8.5 seconds, it drops to just 5.2 seconds in the AWD version.
Since these are based on the e-GMP platform, both models support high-speed 800V charging capability. This will allow a car with a 72.6 kWh battery pack to be charged from 0% to 80% in just 18 minutes using a 350kW rapid charger. For comparison, the fast charging capability on the MG ZS EV and Tata Nexon EV is limited to 50kW and 25kW respectively.
However, both Kia and Hyundai Motors have started work on their made-in-India electric car, which will be launched by 2024. Since these will be manufactured locally, the pricing will be more competitive targeting the mass market customers.
To keep the price of these “Made in India” EVs from Hyundai Motrs and Kia under Rs 15 lakh, they will feature smaller battery packs offering 200 to 250 km range.
