Hyundai Motor Group has completed the development of ultra-fast chargers and will begin to distribute them in earnest. The internalization of ultra-fast chargers is expected to speed up the expansion of electric vehicle infrastructure.
According to sources in the automotive industry on March 11, the Blue Plug, an ultra-fast charger developed by Hyundai KEPICO, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, has a capacity of 360 kilowatts, which surpasses that of the Tesla V4 Supercharger (250 kilowatts). The Tesla Supercharger takes about 22 minutes to charge an electric car battery to 80 percent, while the Blue Plug takes 18 minutes.
Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles built on the E-GMP platform, such as the IONIQ 5 and the EV6, can receive 350-kilowatt super fast charging services via an 800 volt charging system. Hyundai Motor Group controlling the two Korean carmakers operates more than 50 E-Pit charging stations in Korea through its subsidiary, Korea Electric Vehicle Charging Service (KEVCS).
Hyundai Motor Group plans to install 3,000 ultra-fast chargers across the country by 2025. Hyundai KEPICO can produce 750 chargers per year.
Hyundai KEPICO is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group that specializes in automotive electronic control and has developed charging and power controllers for Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles in the past. The company has developed all the key components for boosting charging performance in-house.
In December 2023, Hyundai KEPICO installed three Blue Plugs at Hyundai Motor Group Seosan Test Drive Center. It recently completed their verification process. Based on the verification results, the company plans to supply Blue Plugs to major Hyundai Motor Group facilities such as E-Pit beginning from this year. It also plans to break into the charging business through outside charging service providers.