Hyundai has just unveiled its second attempt at
creating an electric bus for the streets of South Korea, premiering the Elec
City at the Hyundai Truck & Bus Mega Fair.
The automaker first revealed an all-electric bus in
2010 but the vehicle was never given the go-ahead for production due to the
high costs of batteries at the time. Seven years later and with batteries
cheaper than ever, Hyundai has had another crack at it and says production and
sales of the bus should commence in 2018.
Sitting beneath the conventional-looking exterior of
the Elec City is a 256 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery which Hyundai says
provides a range of up to 290 km, almost 60 miles more than the
electric Ioniq. Power is sent to the road through a 240 kW electric motor and a
fast charging feature allows the bus to fully charge in a touch over one hour.
In a statement, the automaker said "Elec City
provides a glimpse into the future of the public transportation. The bus demonstrates
the suitability of Hyundai Motor’s pioneering fully-electric powertrain for
commercial application."
