What Landed The Hyundai Kona Electric In The Guinness Book Of World Records??

• It was driven to an altitude of 5,731 metres at Sawula Pass in Tibet, beating the previous record of 5,715.28 metres by the NIO ES8.
• The electric SUV’s Electronic Stability Control helped it tackle road conditions like icy tarmac.
• It is priced at Rs 23.71 lakh (ex-showroom India).
• It rivals the MG ZS EV in India.

Ever since its launch back in July 2019, the Hyundai Kona Electric has been a frontrunner in India’s EV revolution. Now, almost 6 months later, the electric SUV has achieved a major global accolade. The carmaker revealed that the Kona Electric has set a new Guinness World Record of highest altitude achieved in an electric car. It reached an altitude of 5,731 metres at Sawula Pass in Tibet to break NIO ES8’s previous record of 5,715.28 metres. 

The SUV’s Electronic Stability Control helped it tackle road conditions like icy tarmac. The company has also revealed that during the entire drive, portable chargers were used to juice up the electric SUV, which ran trouble-free during the record attempt. 

Its electric motor is juiced up by a 39.2kWh battery pack, delivering 136PS of power and 395Nm of torque. All this power gives it a 0-to-100kmph time of 9.7 seconds and a top speed of 154kmph. It is also pretty efficient with a range of 452km (ARAI certified). It supports fast charging with a 50kW charger, taking 57 minutes for a zero to 80 per cent charge. A 7.2 kWh charger takes 6 hours and 10 mins for the same. 

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Hyundai plans to expand its charging infrastructure by installing 7.2KW AC chargers at its 15 EV dealers in 11 cities. Other plans include giving customers a 7.2kw AC charger along with the car, ‘Vehicle to Vehicle’ (V2V) charging facilities in select cities, and providing portable chargers via roadside assistance.

 

Priced from Rs 23.71 lakh (ex-showroom India), it is a direct rival to the MG ZS EV. Here’s how the two electric SUVs fare against each other.