PETALING JAYA: Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has introduced the Hyundai Kona Electric compact sports utility vehicle available in three variants.
The Kona Electric Lite (e-Lite), equipped with a 39.2kWH battery and 7.2kW on-board charger (OBC), is priced at RM149,888 while the Kona Electric Plus (e-Plus) which utilises a 39.2kWH battery and 11kW OBC comes at RM169,888.
The top-of-the-line Kona Electric Max (e-Max) offered with a 64kWH battery and 11kW OBC is sold at RM199,888.
The Kona Electric is fully exempted from import and excise duties, sales tax as well as road tax as announced under Budget 2022, making it one of the most competitively priced electric vehicle (EV) in the local market.
The Kona Electric will be available in first quarter of next year.
Its high-capacity batteries enables an impressive driving range of up to 305km in the e-Lite and e-Plus variants, and 484km in the e-Max.
Equipped with a DC fast-charging feature, the Kona Electric can be charged up from zero to 80% in less than an hour.
Alternatively, conventional AC charging of the battery will take approximately 6.5 hours, 4.5 hours, and 7.5 hours for a full charge for the e-Lite, e-Plus, and e-Max variants respectively.
The Kona Electric is equipped with Hyundai’s cutting-edge SmartSense system, which includes various safety features such as a Blind-spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist and Lane Following Assist, among others.
Kona Electric also delivers smooth and fast acceleration from zero to 100kph in 7.6 seconds on the e-Max variant, thanks to the vehicle’s 395Nm of torque.
Sime Darby Motors Malaysia managing director of retail and distribution Jeffrey Gan said the launch of the Kona Electric is Sime Darby Motors Malaysia’s response to the growing demand for electric vehicles.
“It is a reflection of our strategy to be a key enabler of the transition to EVs as an important element of the automotive industry’s decarbonisation efforts.
“This strategy is also aligned with the Government’s push towards low carbon mobility by incentivising the adoption of EVs under the Budget 2022 announcement,” he said
HSDM managing director Low Yuan Lung said the Kona Electric's sleek and refined design coupled with powerful and innovative features would fulfil the needs of customers who are aiming for an environmentally-conscious lifestyle, while ensuring comfort, safety and convenience in their daily commute.
“We look forward to a positive response to the launch of our first fully electric model in Malaysia,” he said.
Low (left) and Gan at the Kona Electric's launch.
The Kona Electric's lithium-ion polymer battery comes with an eight-year or 160,000km warranty, whichever comes first, in addition to a vehicle warranty of two-year or 50,000km.
HSDM is also offering optional add-on packages where customers can mix and match (for example, package A + C).
A. Extended warranty and service packages: RM10,000. This package will upgrade the standard warranty to 5 years/100,000km and free service maintenance for 3 years/50,000km The EV battery warranty will remain unchanged.
B. 7kw AC charging station with external charging cable (type2): RM6,000 excluding installation
C. 22kw AC charging station with external charging cable (type2): RM7,000 excluding installation.
The Kona Electric is available for viewing at the Hyundai Ara Damansara showroom at Sime Darby Motors City and the Hyundai Old Klang Road showroom.
