Hyundai Motor South Korea's top carmaker, said on Sept 14 it would launch its second pure electric car in 2011 based on a small sports utility vehicle made by its affiliate Kia Motors Last week Hyundai unveiled its first pure electric car, BlueOn, which is based on its i10 hatchback, which will be rolled out in Korea in 2010.

"We plan to produce 2,000 electric vehicles based on Kia's upcoming cross utility vehicles (CUVs), and 500 BlueOns by 2012," Hong John-hee, director of Hyundai Motor's Electric Vehicle Development Group, told reporters.

All of the 2,500 cars will be powered by SK Energy's batteries, he said. Hyundai plans to sell those vehicles only to government organizations in Korea by 2012, a Hyundai spokesperson said on Sept 14.

Commercial sales of Hyundai's electric vehicles will start in 2013, but which models will be sold in which markets has not been decided, the spokesperson said. "There is a high possibility that the CUV model will be sold to the general customers starting in 2013," the spokesperson said.

Hong said Kia plans to introduce a gasoline-based CUV in September 2011, and Hyundai plans to launch an electric-version of the model in December 2011.