Originally published on CleanTechnica.
The South Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai will unveil a new, all-electric bus product within the near future (reportedly, this month). The electric bus has a tentative market launch date of sometime in 2018, according to local news sources.
The plan is reportedly for the all-electric bus to be sold primarily in the South Korean market, at least initially. These plans are related to the South Korean government now working to increase the charging facilities available there.
A spokesperson for Hyundai was quoted as saying: “Previously, we launched two versions of the ‘zero-emission’ electric bus but it was not successful in terms of market response due to the lack of charging stations.”
The Korea Herald provides more: “Hyundai has been developing the ‘Elec City’ for the past eight years and will showcase the vehicle powered by a 256 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery at the Hyundai Truck & Bus Mega Fair, a local commercial vehicle exhibition initiated by the carmaker, it said. The electrified bus can run 290 kilometers on a single charge, with the company claiming it will take several hours to top up the battery.”
“The commercial vehicle show is scheduled to be held from May 25–28 at KINTEX exhibition hall, just northwest of Seoul.”
In that coverage, mention is made of the country’s growing air pollution problems and Hyundai’s plans to release more “environmentally friendly” vehicles. It is said that Hyundai wants to be a “responsible player” in the local auto industry. While such a PR-oriented statement may not mean much, considering the large contribution that vehicles make to local air pollution problems, it perhaps would be prudent if Hyundai was strongly focused on this topic.
Reprinted with permission.