Hyundai Launching Its 1st Fully Electric Carsharing Program In Amsterdam
Hyundai Motor is now launching its first fully electric carsharing program in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, according to an email sent to CleanTechnica on Wednesday.
The new program, which was inaugurated today, will provide users in the Amsterdam metropolitan area with access to 100 Hyundai Ioniq Electric units. The Amsterdam area was reportedly chosen by the company because of its already impressive electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging networks.
The city is already home to more than 2,200 public EV charging stations, including local firm Fastned’s fast-growing network of fast-charging stations.
Accompanying the presence of EV charging infrastructure in the city, another reason that it was chosen was reportedly because of its goal to become carbon neutral by 2025.
Hyundai Motor Europe’s Chief Operating Officer Thomas A Schmid commented on the news in this way: “Our first pure-electric car sharing programme in Amsterdam is an important step for our brand to strengthen our leading position in the field of eco-mobility. Together with our New Generation Fuel Cell electric vehicle and further low-to-zero emission models to come onto the market in 2018, Hyundai Motor offers an unrivalled portfolio of eco-friendly cars with the broadest range in powertrains, making future mobility accessible for everyone.”
A press release provides more information on the Hyundai Ioniq Electric vehicles being used: “The IONIQ Electric can travel 280 km on a single charge. With a 28-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery charged to 80% in only about 23 minutes, the IONIQ Electric provides great flexibility for users of car sharing platforms…The electric motor, capable of 88 kW (120 PS), delivers optimum driving dynamics by accelerating the car up to 165 km/h by the single-speed reducer transmission and instantly making available the maximum torque of 295 Nm.”
Since its launch last year, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric has been selling pretty well, particularly in Hyundai’s home market of South Korea. As it stands, the model is probably already well suited towards use in urban carsharing fleets, but it’s worth noting here anyways that it is expected to receive a substantial range increase next year — which should make it function even better as part of carsharing programs.