Car Expert

Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear

By Jordan Mulach
February 6 2024 - 3:50pm
Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear
Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear

An upcoming electric version of the Hyundai Casper city car will reportedly leave the safety of the South Korean market and take on the world – but it's unclear whether it will come to Australia.

The Hyundai Casper is currently exclusively sold in South Korea with petrol power, however electric versions have been spied wearing heavy camouflage within the last 12 months.

As reported by Automotive News Europe, Hyundai will sell the electric Casper in Europe for the first time before the end of 2025, with the city car potentially launching with a sub-€20,000 ($33,000) price tag.

Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear
Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear

According to the publication, the European-delivered Hyundai Casper will be slightly larger than South Korean examples, which are built to the country's 'light car' regulations – similar to Japan's 'kei car' rules.

The current petrol-powered Hyundai Casper measures 3595mm long, 1595mm wide and 1575mm tall – or 445mm shorter, 175mm narrower and 17mm lower than the Hyundai Venue, the brand's smallest vehicle in Australian showrooms.

It's rumoured the electric Hyundai Casper will be 200mm to 250mm longer than its petrol-powered counterpart, accommodating lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries capable of delivering 200km to 300km of driving range.

Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear
Hyundai's electric Picanto rival going global, Australian plans unclear

While Hyundai Australia trademarked the Casper name locally in early 2023, it has refused to comment on whether the model would be sold here as it has not yet been revealed or officially confirmed for production.

However, the South Korean brand's local division has previously said it plans to offer an electrified model in every SUV segment before the end of 2024.

Given the absence of any hybrid or electric versions of the Venue available globally, that could see the Casper arrive here as the company's budget EV offering.

That would likely see it undercut the Kona Electric and Ioniq 5, which are priced from $54,000 and $65,000 before on-road costs, respectively.

Content originally sourced from: CarExpert.com.au