Category: Motoring

History was made on Friday in the nation’s automotive industry as Stallion Group rolled out Hyundai Kona, Nigeria’s first electric car at the VON Assembly Plant in Ojo, Lagos. Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu  unveiled the N24 million car to the admiration of the guests, reports TAJUDEEN ADEBANJO

Nigerian auto lovers would soon stop depending on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called fuel to get their vehicles moving if what happened last Friday at VON Assembly Plant in Ojo, Lagos could be improved upon.

Stallion Group, an auto giant, showcased Hyundai Kona, the first locally assembled electric car.

The electric car was unveiled by the Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The Nation learnt that the car will go for N24 million.

Kona electric car has been extensively applauded for its class driving range, safety convenience features and fast-charging capability.

Its success can be measured by the numerous awards the car has garnered since its debut.

In April this year, it was named the Best Small Family Car by the inaugural TopGear Electric Awards based on its 24-hour (1,600-km) performance.

This year also, United States News & World Report named it the Best Electric Vehicle. WardsAuto included KONA Electric on its 10 best engines list. In 2018, Auto Express named it the Affordable Electric Car of the Year Utility Vehicle of the Year.

Welcoming the guests, the Managing Director of Stallion VON, Mr. Rohtagi Manish, hailed the Lagos State government for always being forward-thinking for the greater good of Lagosians and encouraging sustainable means of operations.

This, he said, was making the state future ready.

According to Manish, the state’s support for the first locally assembled electric car further adds to the vision for a greener and eco-friendly Lagos.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said the electric car would reduce pressure on the use of petroleum.

He described the electric car as a technology on display.

He said: “The future that we see is the future of technology and this is the technology that we are talking about. This is 21st Century technology that has been brought into our country.

“With the innovation of Hyundai Kona, we do not need to put the pressure on what is the pump price of oil again, what is the pump price of petroleum again.

“All the issues and fights that we are having about prices of petroleum going up and the rest of it will be a thing of the past. This is a way to go, and it is the future that we are seeing now. This is the first electric car that we are seeing and we as the government need to partner with them.”

Sanwo-Olu said there was the need to create an enabling environment for the company to do well, so that it could employ a lot more youths.

The governor said with the unveiling of the Hyundai Kona electric car, youths would be employed and empowered for greater opportunities.

According to him, the state government will partner with Ibile Oil and Gas and other private organisations to create different charging points in the city, so that people will have where to charge the cars.

“For us, we see a renowned hope, for us we see a tomorrow coming today, for us we see and believe in the Stallion dream,” the governor said.

Sanwo-Olu praised Stallion Group for believing in the Lagos and Nigeria dream, and revamping the moribund asset located along Lagos-Badagry Expressway.

The Brand Head, Mr. Vasisht Gaurav, said Hyundai Kona is a stepping stone towards a greener Lagos.

Gaurav believed that Nigeria is ready for electric vehicles.

“Once they are affordable and accessible, most Nigerians will adopt the new normal. It will be great to simply charge my car at home like a mobile phone and drive around at no fuel cost,” he said.

Kona, he added, offers ease to the consumers.

“The first electric SUV from Hyundai, the Kona, can go up to a range of 482 km with an acceleration of (0-100kms) in 9.7 seconds on a single battery cycle of a capacity of 64 KWH. The ease of charging is unmatched and can be plugged at home or work for 9.35 hours for a full battery. It’s 100 per cent electric with zero carbon emission. KONA Electric is here to change the way people think about going electric,” he said.

Global interest in climate change and its effects on the environment and with the unpredicted pandemic of COVID-19, more countries are increasingly acknowledging the shift needed from a fossil fuel-driven economy to one that is sustainable, green and attempts to mitigate climate change.

No doubt, Hyundai Motors Nigeria, recognised this paradigm shift in the transportation sector by bringing in electric mobility. It is a step towards the same goal. For a developing country like Nigeria, not being discouraged by the infrastructural challenges, Stallion plans to use the first-ever Electric Vehicle (EV) in conjugation with Hyundai to embark on the attitudinal change for a clean environment.

 

Running Costs

Another factor that will grease Kona’s wheel of success in the country is the car’s running cost, which is quite minimal. That will be more so in Nigeria, where electricity consumers resident in accommodation categorised under R1 are charged only N45 per kilowatt.

That implies Hyundai Kona owners would incur only N3300 for a full charge that will do a running of 482 kms, if he or she plugs the car into the public power supply.  The charging is also as simple as getting your mobile plugged in at your home or office electrical socket.

The ease of charging is unmatched and can be plugged in at home or work for 9.35 hours for a full battery charge and the power consumption for full charging is 143 WH/KM (68.926 kwh for 482km).

Besides the Hyundai Kona’s electric power-packed performance for providing a thrilling driving experience, it also manages to excel with its charging kit capacity of 2.3KW, with a voltage of 230V and frequency of 50Hz. The styling of the vehicle is conventional, the interior is luxurious, and the ride is nearly silent.

Kona electric has been extensively applauded for its class driving range, safety convenience features and fast-charging capability.

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

 

The Hyundai Motor Company has been awarded the 2020 Car Design Award in the “Concept Cars” category for its “Prophecy” concept EV, which debuted earlier this year.

Hyundai’s appropriately named concept EV came in first in the “Concept” category of the 2020 Car Design Awards.

“Prophecy” is notable for the way it combines Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness design identity with Optimistic Futurism, which aims to forge a new form of emotional connection between humans and automobiles.

Organised by Auto & Design magazine, the Car Design Awards were first established in 1984 and are presented annually in Turin, Italy. Due to the current situation, the awards were held digitally for the first time this year. The awards are assigned by an international jury made up of representatives of some of the most prestigious automotive publications in the world.

In awarding Hyundai with the prize, the jury praised “Prophecy” for its aerodynamic, natural shape inspired by streamlined sedans of the 1920s and 1930s, which is combined with a series of technical innovations: “‘Nautical’ inspiration came in the form of such details as the heat-extracting, propeller-style wheels. Rather than mimic a conventionally powered car, ‘Prophecy’ has no grille between its pixel headlamps, and the pixel design repeats with tail lamps that give the rear a sports car-like flourish.

Senior Vice President and Head of Hyundai Global Design Center, SangYup Lee expressed delight winning the award.

“It has been a real pleasure working on this project, and we are delighted to win this prestigious Car Design Award for ‘Prophecy’. When we develop our concept cars, we look everywhere for inspiration, whether it’s the fashion or mobility industry.

“With ‘Prophecy’, we tried to create a really positive optimism for the future based on very simplistic single curve forms that are memorable of eras of aerodynamic and streamlined cars but projected into the future.”

According to Lee, “Prophecy” applied sensuous sportiness in ways never before seen in Hyundai’s fleet.

“This design identity is most evident in the voluptuous side section, which is like that of a perfectly-weathered stone. It is cut by a clean and simple One Curve streamline, which extends from the front to rear with minimalist restraint. This underlines the timelessness of its design. The dynamic and elegant boat-tail line created by the rear quarter panels appears to propel the form forward even when it is standing still,” he said.

 

 

 

Our Reporter

 

VOLKSWAGEN (VW) has returned to profit in the third quarter, mirroring upbeat results of peers including Daimler and Tesla as robust demand in China helped the car industry navigate the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operating profit before special items was €3.2b, rebounding from a loss in the second quarter, the company has said. VW also reported better-than-expected sales in the three months through September.

The world’s best-selling vehicle maker benefited from its large footprint in China, where sales have bounced back to pre-crisis levels. But a second wave of surging infections across North America and Europe and a partial lockdown in its home market Germany risk choking a wider recovery. Several competitors have pointed out that the coming months are difficult to predict after the coronavirus already shuttered factories and showrooms in the second quarter, triggering billions of euros in losses.

Read Also: Volkswagen hires Cadillac boss

VW’s results add to growing evidence that the motor industry has dealt with the pandemic better than feared. Carmakers from Ford to BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reported better-than-expected results in the past weeks. Toyota Motor earlier last week said its global sales rose two per cent in September from the same month in September, spurred by strong demand in China and the US.

VW’s shares rose 2.9 per cent in Frankfurt, valuing the company at about €67b. They have fallen by more than a quarter in 2020.

In Europe, where VW runs most of its factories, the virus is once again threatening to curb sales. Germany and France decided to clamp down on movement for at least a month, coming close to the stringent lockdowns in the spring as Europe seeks to limit the spread of the virus. While the region’s two biggest economies will shutter bars, restaurants and non-essential services, they are allowing most businesses to operate.

Our Reporter

 

MERCEDES-BENZ is set to take a sizeable stake in Aston Martin. For Mercedes, the appeal in owning 20 percent of what remains, despite recent travails, among the world’s most-famous sportscar brands is obvious. And for Aston, which has been lurching between crises, access to Merc’s advanced powertrain technology while facing increasingly tough emissions standards is a lifeline. Since Aston already uses both AMG’s 4.0-liter V8 and the Mercedes-Bosch electronic architecture in all its cars meant salvation was unlikely to come from anywhere else.

But the press conference after the announcement also gave a chance to ask questions to both Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who bought a sizeable chunk of Aston last year and is now the company’s executive chairman, and also Tobias Moers, former AMG boss who has recently become Aston’s CEO.

The new boss’ previous role suggested that he came to Aston with some foreknowledge of the new deal, but Moers denied it with a categorical “absolutely not.”

Shortly before he left Mercedes, he was allegedly involved in a boardroom bust-up when he was told AMG would ultimately have to replace its beloved V8 with a four-cylinder hybrid. He is definitely Aston’s man, not Mercedes’ – and Stroll continues to own a larger stake than the one the Germans are building.

But Aston is also set to take a significantly different path to the one it is on, with the target of selling 10,000 cars annually – it managed 6,000 last year – with Stroll admitting that a large number of those are likely to be SUVs.