No sooner did Hyundai launch a new model in India than the news of another such launch followed. That’s right: less than a week after the official India launch of the much-awaited Venue subcompact SUV, Hyundai India confirmed the launch date of a new electric SUV called Kona. According to recent reports on the matter, the Hyundai Kona Electric will be launched in India on July 9. When launched, the electric SUV is expected to cost somewhere between Rs 15 and 20 lakh rupees.
According to a report by CarAndBike, Hyundai has already confirmed the launch and manufacturing plans for the upcoming EV. “Hyundai has already confirmed that it will be manufacturing its upcoming Kona electric locally in India at its Chennai plant. The latest development is the upshot of the company's plans to invest Rs 7000 crore in India a part of which will go towards the development of an assembly line for the Kona Electric,” reads the report. Hyundai’s big investment is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs in the country.
Hyundai, which will soon have the largest offering of SUV models in India, currently sells the Kona Electric in two variants: Kona Electric and Kona Electric Lite. The former comes with a 150kW motor + 64kWh battery that produces 204 horsepower and the latter comes with a 100kW motor + 39.2 kWh battery that churns out 136 horsepower. It’s hard to say at the moment which one of these two variants will make it to India first. The Hyundai Kona Electric is capable of covering 350 kilometres on a single charge. In addition, the electric SUV features an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, and other premium features.
Only a few days ago, Hyundai launched its much-anticipated Venue subcompact SUV in India. The car is perhaps best known for being the first Hyundai to feature Blue Link, Hyundai’s internet-based connectivity solution. Hyundai Blue Link allows a Hyundai Venue owner to control some of the features of the car remotely using their smartphone. In addition, the Blue Link solution makes use of the 8-inch touchscreen-enabled infotainment system on the car’s dashboard to offer the user voice commands.