Kia to get a New All-Electric CUV by the end of 2011

The Hyundai Group is set to launch an all-electric version of an upcoming Kia CUV (not the study shown in the picture above) as early as December 2011. This follows closely on the reveal of the Hyundai i10-based BlueOn EV, the brand's first electric vehicle. The as-of-yet unseen Kia EV will have an effective range of 80 miles (130 km), with its gasoline-powered brethren set to go on sale three months earlier.

"We plan to produce 2,000 electric vehicles based on Kia's upcoming cross utility vehicles (CUVs), and 500 BlueOns by 2012." said Hong John-hee, Director of Hyundai Motor's Electric Vehicle Development Group.

Just don't expect to see Hyundai EVs on U.S. roads any time soon - all 2,500 vehicles are going to government organizations in South Korea.

Commercial sales are set to follow on in 2013, though Hyundai is still yet to decide what models will be sold and where.

"There is a high possibility that the CUV model will be sold to the general customers starting in 2013." a spokesperson said.

This news comes shortly after the South Korean government announced a plan to replace twenty percent of the country's passenger cars with electric vehicles by 2020.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Reuters