Hyundai Kona N set to drop ICE for EV

March 7, 2023March 18, 2023 John Carey 2082 Views Hyundai

The new Kona N will be a dual-motor EV… if Hyundai decides to develop a replacement for the high-performance turbo four-powered model in the current line-up.

The Korean car maker has already given the matter some careful thought. For now, though, it’s waiting to see if there’s demand for a fast and furious version of the small SUV developed by the company’s capable N division.

“We will see how the market moves,” says Se Hyuk Park, head of Hyundai’s compact vehicle project management group. “If we have to work on the high-performance vehicle for Kona, that could be the electric, definitely.”

So a future Kona N would be an EV? Park’s reply is straightforward: “Right.”

The Hyundai Kona N LIne hybrid gives some clues as to what to expect from a design perspective with an all-electric Kona N

It would be relatively simple to add a second motor to the bigger new Kona EV, which has a single motor driving its front wheels, he explains.

“We already thought about it, and the market need is quite low so far,” says Park. “If the customer expectation is getting higher, then we are very capable of doing the rear-wheel motor in future. We already have that solution, but not for Kona right now.”

Hyundai has also given some clues as to the design of a Kona Electric N with the Kona N-Line hybrid (pictured) revealed at a media event this month in Berlin.

Making the high-performance hero of the new Kona range an EV makes sense. Hyundai believes the pace of electrification is accelerating.

Sang Hyeon Park, head of the company’s EV strategy business division, says the ICE-powered variants will be the best seller when it launches. But the executive doesn’t think it will stay this way.

“The speed of electrification, globally, we believe will go fast,” he says. By the end of the new Kona’s lifespan, in five or six years, Park predicts the EV will be the best seller.

This would make the new Kona EV the obvious starting point for a future N version. And it would be quicker than the current Kona N, which has a 206kW turbocharged 2.0-litre engine driving its front wheels.

The new Kona EV is also front-drive. In long-range form it has a single 160kW motor. A second motor would add a similar or even superior amount of power. Installed in the rear axle, it would also bring all-wheel drive.

With more power and grip, this potential future Kona N would be sure to outperform the current model in a straight line.

The Kona N presently sells best in Europe and the USA, both very large markets where the shift to electrification is likely to be swifter than in other parts of the world.

In Australia last year the standard and long-range EVs accounted for almost 10 percent of all Kona sales. They easily outsold the N model, which is less costly.

John Carey

Grew up in country NSW, way back when petrol was laced with lead. Has written about cars and the car business for more than 35 years, working full-time and freelance for leading mags, major newspapers and websites in Australia and (sometimes) overseas. Avidly interested in core EV technologies like motors and batteries, and believes the switch to electromobility definitely should be encouraged. Is waiting patiently for someone to make a good and affordable EV that will fit inside his tiny underground garage in northern Italy, where he's lived for the past decade. Likes the BMW i3, but it's just too damned wide...