Hyundai Launches EV Center in India & Rolls Out Electric Buses in Japan

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Hyundai continues its semi-leadership in the EV sector this week. It’s not really engaged in groundbreaking developments with electric vehicles (yet), but it’s also far from a laggard in EV world. News this week comes out of India and Japan for a change, showing how willing and eager the company is to go into less advanced EV markets.

Hyundai Battery Research in India

In India, Hyundai Motor Group is teaming up the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) on a battery and electrification research initiative. This is taking place at the new Hyundai Center of Excellence for future mobility technology (Hyundai CoE), opened yesterday.

The collaboration involves nine joint research projects. However, that’s not even close to the extent of it. The aim is for this partnership with IIT Delhi to expand across India and include 10 universities by the end of this year!

The first nine projects cover the following topics:

• Battery cells, systems and testing
• Battery management systems (BMS)
• Energy density enhancement
• Safety
• Durability
• Diagnostic technologies.

“The initiative also explores new materials and system components, driving forward innovation in battery design and performance,” Hyundai adds. Here are a few more details from the company on the plans:

“Currently, the Group collaborates with three IIT universities (IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, and IIT Madras), engaging around 30 professors. By December 2025, it aims to expand its reach to 10 universities in India, including non-IIT institutions, with approximately 100 professors participating.

“The Group is organizing a range of initiatives to further strengthen this collaborative ecosystem. These include:

• • Technology exchange forums bringing together experts from both India and Korea
  • Global conferences on battery and EV technologies to share insights on trends and policies
  • Policy dialogue sessions that engage key stakeholders from the Indian government, academia, and industry to discuss the future of the mobility and electrification sectors.”

Hyundai Electric Buses in Japan

A bit further east, in Japan, Hyundai held a ceremony with Iwasaki Group on Yakushima Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to deliver Hyundai ELEC CITY TOWN electric buses.

Electric buses? Who knew Hyundai was into that?

“Hyundai ELEC CITY TOWN buses are optimized for Yakushima’s environment, with Vehicle Dynamics Control and advanced battery management and cooling systems,” Hyundai writes.

The buses are for Tanegashima Yakushima Kotsu, a regional transportation and tourism service provider. One would hope tourism service providers in UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world would be switching to electric buses by now.

“I am delighted to see Hyundai’s ELEC City electric buses running here on Yakushima, contributing towards a cleaner island environment,” said Hyundai Motor Group Vice Chair Jaehoon Chang. “Being part of Yakushima’s zero-emission island initiative is a significant step towards achieving carbon neutrality on the island by 2050.”

For now, five buses have been delivered. Each bus includes a 145 kWh battery and a high-efficiency motor with a power output of up to 160 kW/217 PS.

“The buses are equipped with Vehicle Dynamics Control to ensure safe and stable driving on the island’s mountainous roads, characterized by steep slopes and sharp curves. The buses also feature advanced battery management and cooling systems, optimized for Yakushima’s hot and humid climate, enhancing charging performance, efficiency and driving range.” Nice.

And here’s the cherry on top: “The agreement includes utilizing the ELEC CITY TOWN’s Vehicle-to-Home capabilities to supply power to evacuation shelters and medical facilities during natural disasters such as typhoons or periods of heavy rainfall.” Extra nice.