Hyundai launched its first Hybrid car

Posted at July 9th, 2009 under Uncategorized | No Comments »

Hyundai Motor Company on Wednesday  launched its first hybrid vehicle in its domestic market of South Korea.

Hyundai’s first hybrid, a version of its Elantra compact sedan that runs on a combination of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and a set of lithium-ion polymer batteries. Like other hybrid vehicles, there is a dashboard indicator in the Elantra LPI to notify a driver when the car is performing at peak fuel efficiency.

Hyundai’s hybrid car is the first hybrid to be powered by LPG, the company sources said. Hyundai has already succeeded with LPG-powered versions of its midsize Sonata sedan South Korea.

The Elantra was formerly sold as the Lantra and the Avante in some Australian and European markets. This gave rise to disagreement from other motor manufacturers, and the name was standardized as “Elantra” worldwide in 2001.

Hyundai estimates the new car would produce fuel savings of about 1.35 million won each year, based on current prices of fuel. Hyundai says the Elantra LPI returns about 62 mpg (U.S.) and is clean enough to qualify for California’s Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standard.

Pricing for the Elantra LPI starts at 20.5 million won, the equivalent of about $15,700.