Hyundai rolls out business-oriented EV lineup

Hyundai Motor rolled out a new electric business lineup known as ST1 on Wednesday. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor rolled out a new electric business platform lineup known as ST1 on Wednesday to cater to the needs of business owners.

The lineup consists of a regular cargo van, a refrigerated van, and a chassis cab. A chassis cab consists only of the vehicle’s frame and a passenger compartment without a cargo area mounted behind. Depending on the intended purpose, it can be used for deliveries, polic work, emergency rescue, camping, mobile smart farms and more.

The carmaker released the ST1 cargo and refrigerated van model on Wednesday, tailored for delivery services with a standard cargo compartment and refrigerated cargo compartment, respectively. Hyundai explained that it collaborated with 18 logistics companies such as CJ Logistics, Lotte Group, Hanjin Logistics, IKEA and Market Kurly from the initial stages of development to build a logistics-focused vehicle.

"What our clients wanted the most from the vehicles came down to two factors: a greater cargo capacity and vehicle accessibility for underground parking lots,” said Oh Se-hoon, head of Hyundai’s purpose-built vehicles division, at the lineup's unveiling event held in Songdo, Incheon, on Tuesday.

A height of 223 centimeters (seven feet, four inches) allows the ST1 to easily navigate underground parking garages.

Hyundai also applied logistics-focused specifications for user convenience. For instance, if the driver attempts to move with the cargo compartment open, the vehicle alerts them through the dashboard. It’s also equipped with a "Smart Drive Ready" system that automatically starts and stops the engine based on self-assessment functions like seat occupancy, fastened seat belts and door status even without the driver pressing the ignition button.

Both versions come with a 76.1 kilowatt-hour battery pack. When fully charged, the maximum driving range is 317 kilometers (197 miles) for the cargo version and 298 kilometers for the refrigerated version.

The 350-kilowatt fast-charging models can go from 10 to 80 percent of the battery capacity in 20 minutes.

Energy consumption is rated at 3.6 kilometers per kilowatt-hour for the cargo version and 3.4 kilometers per kilowatt-hour for the refrigerated cargo version.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]