Hyundai to double the number of fast chargers in South Korea
The stations offer charging speeds of up to 350 kW. EVs equipped with an 800-volt system can thus charge there from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes. According to local media, Hyundai will install an additional 3,000 ultra-fast chargers through its affiliate, Korea Electric Vehicle Charging Service (KEVCS), and 20,000 AC chargers.
Moreover, Hyundai presented its own HPC columns dubbed Blue Plug last summer. It is not clear whether these will be used for the expansion or not. So far, the hardware for the E-Pit hubs has come from SK Signet and EVSIS.
Hyundai began building the “E-Pit” network in 2021, right before the launch of the group’s first 800-volt electric vehicles, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. It wanted to install 120 HPC columns before the end of 2021. However, last summer, Korean media reported that only 36 of them were operational. Media reports now speak of 54 locations and 286 stations.
In April 2022, Hyundai announced teaming up with retail giant Lotte Group and KB Asset Management to expand ultra-rapid charging infrastructure in Korea. Their business model includes leasing high-power charging stations to private operators to add 5,000 ultra-fast chargers (UFC) by 2025.
According to local media, the South Korean carmaker also recently launched the “E-pit Pass,” a membership offering a 20 per cent discount on charging fees and allowing users to plug in at any of the 72,000 charging stations from Hyundai’s partners. The manufacturer says it will even grant access to 260,000 chargers by the second half of 2024.
About 50 per cent of South Korea’s EV chargers are located in the Seoul metropolitan area because of the number of EVs in the region and the high population. The area includes the capital Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon.
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