In the race of bringing eco-friendly cars, Hyundai shows that it is definitely not lagging. It is world’s fourth largest auto maker in terms of volume but intends to rank higher still. With the series of launches of new eco-cars in the market, now Hyundai brings its eco-friendly Hyundai i10 electric variants in the market.
The Korean automaker will officially showcase the brand new Hyundai i10 Blue Drive at the upcoming Frankfurt Auto Show to be held in mid-September. The new electric version will be powered by 49kW (66.6 PS) electric motor under the hood. It will have a motor with 16kWh Li-ion battery pack that will give a run of 160km on a full charge and a top speed of 130km/h. Other ancillaries such as power assisted steering gear, air conditioning etc. will be off-battery, which means that the power is derived directly from the car’s momentum.
Moreover, the car will have regenerative braking – which means in a nut-shell that the battery gets recharged when the car exercises its brakes.
The new Hyundai i10 Blue Drive will have low resistance tyres to boost its speed and range. It will possess the same look and feel of existing i10 model running on fossil fuel. Hyundai i10 Blue Drive model will be produced in limited numbers from 2010. Currently, Hyundai does not have any plans of bringing the model to Indian market. It initially plans to give it to the Korean government, utility company and the state corporation in the country as Korea offers tax incentive to electric cars in Seoul.
