Hyundai unveils its first electric vehicle

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. jumped on the electric car bandwagon last week with the unveiling of the BlueOn. While the BlueOn is all-electric, it is built on the platform of Hyundai’s gasoline-powered i10 hatchback compact. Woong-chul Yang, president of Hyundai Motor’s R&D division, said the BlueOn signals the firm’s entry into the global electric vehicle market. The BlueOn is a product of South Korean technology. The electric car boasts a maximum speed of 130kph. Hyosung Inc. provided a motor with maximum output of 61kw. SK Energy and LS INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS CO. make the lithium-ion battery and inverter used in the vehicle, respectively. Hyundai aims to sell 2,500 electric vehicles by 2012, including those made by Kia Motors Corp., a group car-maker. But it has been unable to decide at what price it can sell the BlueOn, the full-scale mass production of which is slated for 2013. (September 16, 2010)