Hyundai is planning to introduce an all-electric model with a 200 mile range in 2018 and one with a 250 mile range two years later.
The automaker unveiled its first EV earlier in the year, in the form of an electric variant of the Toyota Prius-rivalling Ioniq.
While sales have yet to commence, it will hit the streets with a 110 mile range, some way shy of the near 190-mile range of the latest BMW i3 and the claimed 200-mile range of the Chevrolet Bolt.
Nevertheless, the company’s director of eco-vehicle development Ahn Byung-ki told Automotive News that Hyundai is being prompted to accelerate its development of electric vehicles, particularly due to Chinese firms working on models to sell exclusively in the Asian nation.
According to Ahn, “Electrical vehicles are changing real fast. From a conventional perspective, two years or maybe a year-and-a-half is not really a long time. But in the EV business, it is a pretty long time. We have to be ready for the new generation every two years.”
Hyundai is not only planning to roll out some eight electric models across its and the line-ups of Genesis and Kia, it will also introduce 10 hybrids, eight plug-in hybrids and two fuel-cell powered vehicles by 2020.
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