New Hyundai Kona SUV to get EV version, 2018 debut

The new Hyundai Kona SUV, unveiled yesterday, will get a range of engines from a 2.0 litre MPI Atkinson unit to a 1.0 litre turbo triple. Europeans will get a 1.6 litre turbodiesel next year, too. It should cover most needs – there’s even a sprightly 1.6 litre T-GDI for 0-100 km/h in 7.7 seconds – but Hyundai is future-proofing its new B-segment SUV.

At the Kona’s launch event in South Korea, Hyundai vice chairman Eui-sun Chung said that the carmaker will launch a Kona EV model by next year, with Autocar reporting that Hyundai is aiming for the electric Kona to have a battery-only range of around 240 miles, which is slightly less than 400 km.

Hyundai isn’t a stranger to EVs. The Ioniq, which is sold in Malaysia as a conventional hybrid, was designed from the start to have plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and full electric variants, and the Kona could get the latest evolution of the Ioniq EV’s system.

New Hyundai Kona SUV to get EV version, 2018 debut

Chung also said that Hyundai is developing an “A-SUV” that will slot in below the Kona by year 2020. This smallest of SUVs will be aimed at emerging markets such as India. There will also be a large SUV that will sit above the Tucson and Santa Fe, to make it a five-model range. This is likely to be a flagship SUV catered to North America.

“Our plan is to develop an A-segment SUV that is smaller than the Kona by 2020 so we can embrace the SUV from A to E segment, so we will also roll out an E-segment SUV that is bigger than Santa Fe. We want a full SUV line-up to respond to our customers’ needs,” he said.

We’ve detailed the new Hyundai Kona, and you can read more about it here.

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