PHEV Getting Popular
Kia Motors exhibited its K5 PHEV at this year’s Busan International Motor Show early this month. In the EV mode, this vehicle can cover a distance of 44 km with a fully charged battery. After the battery is dead, gasoline is used in the hybrid mode to enable long-distance driving. The Hyundai Sonata PHEV, which is similar in specifications to the K5 PHEV, has a gas mileage of 17.2 km/L in its hybrid mode.
The Chevrolet Volt PHEV made its debut in South Korea at the motor show, too. This car can cover a distance of up to 89 km in the EV mode. BMW, in the meantime, is planning to launch the New X5 xDrive 40e, its first PHEV SUV, in the second half of this year and Mercedes-Benz is to release the New S500e before the end of this year. The latter can travel up to 30 km in the all-electric mode and its greenhouse gas emission amount is as small as 69 grams per kilometer.
Volvo’s All New XC90 PHEV is becoming more and more popular as well. These days, the XC90 T8, the PHEV version of the model, takes up about 15% of its total sales volume in South Korea. It can be fully charged in three to four hours when charged with a 220 V power supply.
Nowadays, automakers in South Korea are making a move as EV charging infrastructure construction led by the South Korean government is being delayed. For instance, Hyundai Motor Company signed a memorandum of understanding with POSCO ICT in June last year and has installed charging equipment at large supermarkets, movie theaters, etc. Hyundai Motor Company and POSCO ICT installed 220 and 300 PHEV chargers last year, respectively. They are also planning to install 80 units this year before installing such chargers at all the 2,200 or so Hyundai Motor showrooms across the country. BMW is currently running about 120 chargers for its i-series electric vehicles at approximately 80 e-mart malls, too.