YS Kim, the head of Eco-technology System Test & Development at Hyundai Motor Group, Korea, whose team helped develop the Kona EV, says the range of 452km is in ‘ideal’ test conditions, but claims that the actual range the customers will get will be close to this number. Excerpts:
Hyundai has developed two electric cars: the Kona and Ioniq. What learning have you gathered for your upcoming EVs?
Both the Kona and Ioniq share platform with conventional internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Our next EV will be developed on the dedicated Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), and that car will be launched globally in early 2021. That platform will be used for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EVs.
The Kona EV (39.2 kWh), according to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), has a certified range of 289km, but Hyundai India is claiming 452km. Why is there such a huge difference?
First, the 452km range has been certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI). Secondly, the WLTP, I think, is a far more rigorous test, and done in a different environment. But I do believe that the actual range the customers in India will get will be close to 452km, depending, of course, on their driving style.
Is this 452km the maximum range any rating agency, anywhere in the world, has given the Kona?
Yes, it’s the maximum range the Kona has been rated at. Moreover, the MIDC (Modified Indian Driving Cycle) that the ARAI uses for testing, I think, is an ‘ideal’ driving cycle. I must add that when Hyundai engineers tested the Kona again on the MIDC mode, they got 460km of range.