In South Korea, Hyundai Motors has launched its first electric minibus called "Country Electric". It can cover the 155 miles in a single charge.
The foreseeable future of the automobile industry is powered by electricity. There is not much doubt among communities regarding this. The electric automobile industry has given us some really viable and practical real-world products offering an eco-friendly and more economical platform than the usual internal combustion diesel and petrol engines.
With major countries pledging to achieve an all-electric industry by 2030, companies have geared up with some amazing new developments with all the major brands joining the bandwagon. This new offering from Hyundai is a pretty standard example in the queue.
About the bus
Dimensions and Seating Capacity
Talking about the dimensions the Hyundai Country Electric stands at a very generous figure of 7710mm in length. Just for a reference, India’s sweetheart, the Swaraj Mazda minibus stood at 5875 mm in length. It will be offered in configurations varying from 15 to 33 seats. But because of the electric platform, it saves on a lot of space inside, thus allowing much more room for passengers to walk around.
Battery and charging details
The bus houses a powerful 128 kWh battery that offers a generous range of 250 km making it just right intracity commutes for corporations. The battery comes with a monitoring system that automatically cuts off the voltage in case of the detection of abnormality. An overcharge protection system constantly monitors battery voltage while charging and cuts off power if an abnormal voltage is detected. A safety plug can be used to cut off power while maintenance.
The charging time with the special DC supply 150kW charging kit is very impressively 72 minutes. And with the 220V household supply, it is 17 hours.
Power delivery
The vehicle claims to churn out 30% more power in the speed range of 50km/hr to 80km/hr which is most prominently reflective of the speeds most buses operate at. The air-over-hydraulic braking system is robust and does the job of handling the increased vehicle weight quite efficiently. The system is electronically controlled for constant performance in different situations.
Features
The electric mini-bus is equipped with important safety features like stability control feature, hill launch assist, wheel spin prevention, a parking brake that adds air pressure, and an auxiliary braking system that adjusts the strength of regenerative braking on four levels. An ultrasonic sensor on the exit ensures passenger safety while getting in or out and also near the doors by movement detection.
Apart from the safety features, the bus will also get other features like a ventilated driver’s seat and a 7-inch touchscreen system along with two 4.2-inch screens.