Hyundai Kona EV expected here August

Some Hyundai Kona electrics are expected in New Zealand by early August.

So says Hyundai New Zealand Motors New Zealand general manager Andy Sinclair.

He says local pricing and specifications will be announced later.

Kona EV production has started and the first customers globally should start receiving them in July, Electrek

reports.

Norway is expected to be among the first to receive them, with Hyundai limiting deliveries there to 2500 this year.

Electrek says the Kona EV will be in the US late this year, likely to debut in California and subsequently other zero emission vehicle states.

Hyundai is expected to begin production of its own EV batteries in coming years, a report from Theinvestor.co.kr says.

The Korean auto giant that has been hiring several researchers on battery development and production since early this year plans to set up the lines within its research lab in Euiwang, Gyeonggi Province. It has also recently placed orders with multiple equipment makers, Electrek says.

Hyundai uses batteries from LG Chem and SK Innovation in its Ioniq EVs and hybrids but could see initial battery production in the sub 1GWh range – enough to power a couple of hundred cars. In about two years, the batteries could go mass market, the report says.

A Hyundai spokesperson confirmed to The Investor

the carmaker is building battery production lines, but denied plans to use the batteries for its own vehicles.