[Courtesy of GM Korea]
US auto giant General Motors promised Wednesday to launch Chevrolet's electric vehicle "Bolt EV" in the first half of next year in a bid to claim a share in South Korea's fledgling EV market.
GM Korea president James Kim said Bolt EV's brand power would be strong enough to become a gamer changer in South Korea's EV market which is expected to see the arrival of full EV cars from domestic and foreign automakers next year.
"It will change the landscape of South Korean electric vehicle market," Kim said at an electric show in Seoul, describing Bolt EV as "a product which features unique innovative values of Chevrolet brand".
Bolt EV can drive up to 383 kilometers (238 miles) on a single charge, and its driving distance exceeds that of Hyundai Ioniq Electric (191 kilometers) and Tesla's Model 3 (346 kilometers). Bolt EV's price was not disclosed, but in the US market, it is priced at 30,000 US dollars including subsidies.
GM officials believe Bolt EV's sale in South Korea will depend on the scale of government subsidies and infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Hyundai Motor released Ioniq Electric, a fully electric version of the Ioniq lineup in July this year while BMW released its EV model, i3, in 2014. Both have gained a lot of attention prior to their release but were turned away by consumers because they lacked charging stations and government support.
American electric carmaker Tesla plans to open a showroom in South Korea in November.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
