Hyundai & Kia present new China BEVs

Hyundai presented its Lafesta EV for the Chinese market at the Guangzhou Motor Show. While their subsidiary Kia also presented an electric limousine with the K3 EV, which will also be offered with similar performance data as the Lafesta EV.

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The Hyundai electric limousine has an output of 150 kW and is equipped with a 56.5 kWh battery with a range of up to 490 kilometres. This should mean the NEDC value, even if Hyundai does not mention it.

The electric motor thus achieves the same performance as that in the Kona Electric, which is sold as Encino EV in China. Hyundai does not mention whether the motor is the same or not. At 56.5 kWh, the battery in the Lafesta is somewhat smaller than in the Kona/Encino (64 kWh).

“With the introduction of the Lafesta EV, Hyundai Motor Company is accelerating the spread of electrification in China at full throttle,” said Seogju Cha, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Hyundai Motor Group (China). However, the Koreans are not yet quoting prices for the 4.70 meter long limousine.

In addition to the Lafesta EV, Hyundai also exhibited the “45 Concept“, which was shown for the first time at the IAA. The concept should not only give an outlook on the future electric design of Hyundai, but also on the 800-volt technology, which is to be launched on the market from 2021 – but probably first in Europe and only later in China.

In Guangzhou, Hyundai subsidiary Kia also presented the K3 EV, which was specially developed for the Chinese market. Like the Lafesta, the K3 has been available as a petrol and plug-in hybrid for some time now, and now the pure electric version will follow.

As with the Lafesta, a 56.5 kWh battery is used, in both cases the cells come from the Chinese manufacturer CATL. However, Kia does not mention any further dates or prices. In addition to the K3 EV, Kia also presented the SUV KX3, but initially without an electric drive.

Update 16 April 2020: According to a media report, the Kia K3 EV for the Chinese market presented in November will be launched in September 2020. The electric limousine is to have an output of 135 kW and a range of 490 km in the NEDC cycle. A hybrid version of the K3 will also be produced.

hyundaimotorgroup.com, insideevs.com, kianewscenter.com, paultan.org (update)