In a series of promotional videos on YouTube, a camper is
shown running on a treadmill hooked up to the car's battery, listening to their
favourite tunes on a bank of speakers, and even rustling up a roast-chicken
dinner in a portable oven. The car can supply up to 3.6kW of power, enough to
run appliances like refrigerators and stoves.
It's part of a push by Hyundai to appeal to a younger
audience as it plays catch-up in the EV market. The South Korean automaker is
behind EV pioneers such as Tesla and established brands like Volkswagen AG and
BMW AG, only introducing its electric car in 2016.
“We looked at the wider meaning of space that would include
outdoor and daily activities that consumers can do with their cars,” Heung Soo
Kim, a senior vice president and head of product and EV businesses, said in an
interview last month. “We are constantly looking into new features that will
appeal to users.”
Hyundai says it's the first major electric-car maker to
offer bi-directional charging, which means owners can power electronic devices
from the car battery. While conventional car batteries can be used to charge
laptops and phones, they drain quickly if hooked up to anything more powerful,
like a portable fridge or sound system, meaning serious campers need to install
a dual-battery system or lug around heavy, noisy generators to power their home
comforts.
The Ioniq 5 also comes with the option to install a
solar-panel roof that will charge the battery pack, giving the vehicle
additional driving range of about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) annually.
US-based EV start-up Rivian Automotive. is also looking to
attract buyers who love the great outdoors, but with some creature comforts. It
has developed a slide-out camp kitchen for its Sedona SUV complete with an
induction cooktop powered by the car battery.
‘New Era'
Hyundai in the next few months is set to start sales of the
Ioniq 5, its first EV built on a dedicated platform called the Electric-Global
Modular Platform, or E-GMP. The flattened chassis allows the automaker to
create more spacious interiors, another drawcard to entice drivers to switch
from convention gasoline-powered vehicles.
“This year will be the start of a new era for Hyundai and Kia
as its full EVs go on sale,” said Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Investment
& Securities in Seoul. “Hyundai has come a long way from being one of the
latecomers to the EV market to offering a very competitive product with the
Ioniq 5.”
Still, demand for the Ioniq 5 is expected to be slow
initially. Hyundai received orders for just more than 20,000 of the vehicles in
South Korea on the day pre-orders opened. The automaker aims to sell 26,500 of
the EV model in its home market this year, a fraction of its total sales target
of 741,500 vehicles.
The Ioniq 5 will start at SKW 52 million before subsidies,
according to Hyundai's website. The smaller Kona EV starts at 49 million won
before subsidies, and its Palisade SUV starts at SKW 36.4 million.
Another features Hyundai says sets it apart from rivals is
its charging speed. The platform enables EVs to charge up to 80 percent
capacity from 10 percent in 18 minutes and add as much as 100 kilometers of
driving range in just 5 minutes. They'll have a top range of 500 kilometers on
a single charge. It will also charge at 800 volts and 400 volts, allowing
owners to access more charging infrastructure, Kim said.
That compares with Volkswagen's ID.4, which takes about 38
minutes to charge up to 80 percent from 5 percent in about 38 minutes and add
100 kilometers in about 10 minutes. It falls short of the Porsche Taycan, which
can add enough charge for 100 kilometers in 4 minutes, and has a total range of
450 kilometers. Tesla markets the Long Range version of its Model 3 at about
515 kilometers.
Hyundai's Kia unit last month also unveiled its new EV6
model that will be assembled on the same E-GMP platform and is expected to go
on sale in July.
“We also focused on having a modular platform that will
enable us to offer various types of vehicles on the same platform,” Kim said.
Hyundai is also working to build charging infrastructure to
encourage more people to buy EVs. The conglomerate unveiled plans in March to
provide ultra-high-speed charging stations through its E-pit brand. It plans to
open 20 stations in South Korea this year and will work with potential partners
overseas to build the infrastructure.
Emerging markets beckon too, with India and Southeast Asia
part of the company's long-term strategy, Kim said. Hyundai is also considering
partnerships with local governments to build charging infrastructure to support
demand for EVs, he said.
© Bloomberg LP
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