Hyundai i10 Electric – Coming Soon
Looks like there’s no stopping the guys at Hyundai, huh !!
After dishing out variants of the i10 and i20, the company has now announced a zero emission all-electric avatar of its i10 hatch, marking a change from their earlier stance in favour of hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell technology. This new i10 Blue Drive will be unveiled to the public at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this month.
The i10 Blue Drive is a 2-door 5-seat hatchback with a 49 kW electric motor powered by a 16 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery. The battery cells are provided by LG Chem and weigh 30% lesser, offering a 12% greater efficiency as compared to nickel hydride batteries. The car can be driven upto 160 kms on a full charge and boasts a top speed of 130 kmph. The battery has an intrinsic liquid thermal management system, and the car will offer an 85% 15-minute quick charge option at 413V. A full 100% charge can take up to 5 hours.
Due to the prohibitive cost of the batteries (~ 10,000 euros – more than the current car cost !! 
), it is likely to be offered only on lease for now. There also don’t seem to be any plans of offering it in India as yet, and Hyundai plans to begin low volume fleet leasing of the vehicle in Korea starting in 2010 and full scale global production in 2012, one of the big reasons for the hurry being the tax incentives being offered for electric cars in Korea.
September 9th, 2009
I dont think we will ever see this car in India becoz the govt is too f**ked up to think far ahead and give concessions to such vehicles. This is also why toyota prius and honda civic hybrid will never succeed here !!!
September 12th, 2009
@Sameer Am not sure about your government policies, but unless input costs are lowered, there will always be an entry barrier for vehicles like these. There also has to be a change in mindset among people for such initiatives to succeed.