Seoul sees its first high-speed electric vehicles

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has announced that there are now five high-speed electric cars in operation in the city. The new vehicles are retrofitted recreational vehicles (RVs), adopted to accommodate an electric motor. The car can achieve speeds of up to 150 kilometers (km) per hour, can cover 140 km on a single charge, and has no emissions or engine noise. The fuel cost of the electric car is 27 won (US$0.02) per km, which is just one quarter of what the average gasoline car (140,000 won or US$124) requires. The car is the result of collaboration between the Seoul and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, which oversees the development of batteries and electric motors for mid-size vehicles and builds infrastructure for battery recharge stations.