Electric Hyundai Kona caught recharging

For the time being, you can get the funky Hyundai Kona exclusively with petrol and diesel engines, but things will change sometime next year when the small crossover will go fully electric. Seen here getting a 'refill' at a charging station, the zero-emission SUV was carrying a heavy amount of camouflage, though we are not expecting any major styling changes.

We can already anticipate some of the design tweaks on the outside as the front grille will be modified to accommodate the charging port. Since there won’t be a combustion engine underneath the hood that would require cooling, it means Hyundai will be able to install a closed-off grille like it has already done with the Ioniq Electric. Needless to say, the engineers will get rid of the exhaust system.

Latest intel suggests Hyundai has plans to sell the Kona Electric (or whatever it will be called) with two different battery packs: 40kWh and a bigger 64kWh version. The latter should have enough juice for somewhere in the region of 250 miles, but we'll need to wait for the official government test results to confirm.

The 64kWh Kona is scheduled to land in the UK next year and will sell for around £30,000. According to the same report, LG Chem will be in charge of providing most of the powertrain’s components and the electric motor will be the same one as found inside the Chevrolet Bolt.

Besides giving the Kona the EV treatment, Hyundai is also analysing the prospect of doing a high-performance N version. However, it’s not a big priority right at the moment, so don’t expect to see it too soon.