Kia has started selling the first ever Korean electric vehicle in the form of the Ray EV. The car, which emits no smoke because it doesn’t have a petrol or diesel engine, can go as far
as 139km on a single charge of electricity. It’s based on something
called Ray CUV, which was launched
in South Korea last month.
The Ray EV is powered by a 50kW electric motor, which is run by a high-capacity 16.4
kWh lithium- ion polymer battery
pack. These batteries are placed under the rear seat and beneath the cabin floor. While the range of 139km might not sound like much,
consider that driving between Jozi
and Pretoria covers roughly 50km one
way, which means one could go to work in the morning, charge up at work, return
in the even and charge up at home.
Of course all this
depends on a fairly reliable electricity
grid, which, to be fair to Eskom,
has been provided so far this year. In South Korea there are currently 500 slow/fast recharge stations, while
their government plans to increase that figure to 3 100 stations by the end of
2012.
Unlike regular petrol or diesel vehicles, Ray EV generates no engine noise, which can be a potential
problem with pedestrians being unaware
of the approaching car. To prevent accidents,
Kia has fitted Ray EV with a VESS (Virtual
Engine Sound System). When driven at speeds below 20km/h this system
delivers a mixture of recorded petrol engine noises, which are also emitted whenever the car is reversing.
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