South Korean manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company has declared its intention to mass-produce electric buses in the next couple of years.
Chinese and European bus makers have been at the forefront of the move to electric vehicles, and it is understood Hyundai’s models will be developed and released in South Korea at the end of next year before a more aggressive push into external markets in 2018.
Hyundai previously built electric vehicles for the Seoul G20 Summit in 2011, releasing the ‘BlueOn’ and ‘BlueCity’ models, but mass production on these buses was shelved because of a lack of market interest.
“Although this is our second time developing electric buses, this is the first time when we are developing electric buses for purpose of mass-production.” said a representative for Hyundai Motor Company.
With the push towards a reduction in emissions and more cities around the world trialling electric options, Hyundai’s electric bus offering is back on the cards.
The low-floor bus will be equipped with two 51kWh lithium-ion batteries, giving the bus a range of more than 100km per charge.
Hyundai is also considering phosphate batteries to be in line with the Chinese market.
Chinese manufacturers BYD, Foton and FDG are also developing electric buses for mass production.
