John Ndlovu and Brighton Zimidzi
The advent of the electric cars is a move set to curb pollution caused by fuel cars which are toxic to the environment.
Africa has been lagging behind in terms of producing electric cars due to scarcity of adequate road, car parts, human resource, infrastructure and charging stations.
Recently Hyundai enhanced its prowess in the motor industry after its new model Hyundai loniq 6 grabbed bragging rights by clinching the 2023 World Car of the year award.
Hyundai loniq 6 is the new electric vehicle model from the South Korea headquartered car manufacturer that competes with the Tesla Model 3 and offers an estimated maximum driving range of 361 miles thus over 580 kilometers.
The revelations of the awards were made at the Annual New York International Auto Show on Wednesday after outstanding stiff competition from BMW X1/iX1 and Kia Niro for the top prize, the sleek South Korea electric vehicle also bagged the World Car Design of the year categories.
Zim GBC News technology news crew engaged technology expert and the local general populace on the issue and there were mixed views.
A seasoned technology expert based in the City stated that fully endorsing electric cars such as Hyundai on a large scale would be a huge mountain to climb for Zimbabwe due to scarcity of adequate charging stations, high load shedding and poor road networks as the electric car requires a lot of power to be constantly functional.
“Having electric powered cars in Zimbabwe will be a difficult route for us as Zimbabweans due to our economic conditions which are very poor owing to fluctuating inflation. A Hyundai Ioniq 6 electric car requires more than US$3000 for battery maintenance and replacement while charging it requires more power and excellent charging stations something that is utopian currently in Zimbabwe as here there are high power outages/load shedding. So due to high maintenance costs it would be very difficult to adopt them here in Zimbabwe.”He said
According to reports costs of replacing the battery of a Hyundai loniq is estimated to be between US$3 074 and US$3 131, if the battery malfunctions the entire unit therefore will need to be replaced at price of US$17 845.
The new Hyundai car model also has excellent luxurious interior and advanced sound-deadening technology which provide comfort equal to that found to the lounge. It’s battery can also charge at a range of up to 80% for just 18 minutes which really shows it’s excellency into the electric car manufacturing industry.
Hyundai, an Engineering and Construction company was established in 1947 by Chung Ju-Sung in South Korea. The company played an important role in building the country’s transportation infrastructure during it’s rapid industrialization. In 1967, Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company then gave birth to the Hyundai Motor Company which manufactured and released its first car model called Cortina in collaboration with Ford motor Company. Hyundai is also well known for manufacturing the world’s first car to offer three different electrified power-trains.
The Asian based motor manufacturing giant entered the electric vehicle market in 2014 with six different models. It’s main rivals in the EV market include Elon Musk’s Tesla, General Motors, Ford and the German’s Volkswagen who have been making waves in the motor industry over the years.