Hyundai is getting its tiny crossover ready for some EV power and a new prototype of the Casper Electric was caught during testing in Japan (yes, in Japan) thanks to AutoSpy. The small SUV will take advantage of the addition of the electric powertrain to make some interesting design changes such as adding pixels, new full LED headlights and more. Hyundai will launch a longer wheelbase model for the European market. This model will have a better legroom for rear occupants while receiving a larger battery pack (the Korean model will have 35,2 kWh).
The Casper is expected to start production early next year and begin domestic sales during spring. The Hyundai Casper Electric is a new vehicle based on the ‘K1 platform’ for small cars developed by Hyundai Motors that already are on use for several models like Hyundai Grand i10, Hyundai Exter and the internal combustion engine Casper model.
Gwangju Global Motors (GGM) will be again in charge of production. Work on joint venture between the Gwangju local government and Hyundai Motor began four years ago when the deal was signed. The plant was finished in April 2021. Back to the Casper, the small SUV is still fully covered of camouflage, using canvas camouflager all together so it’s not visible in detail, but you can see the triangular grille pattern or the rounded headlamps together with same eyebrow as the regular Casper.
There are some glimpse’s as the new alloy wheels, a new front grille that is fully covered and has the lettering “front radar” so we expected any kind of autonomous level, possible, the second. The interior photos also reveal that the interior will get some changes and updates. The two screens are new compared to the regular Casper model.
The size of the regular Casper has 3595 mm length, 1595 mm width, and 1575 mm height, which complies with the domestic standards for compact cars. The powertrain of the ICE versions is equipped with a gasoline 3-cylinder SmartStream G 1.0 engine and the same but with Turbo, reaching 67 and 100 hp respectively. It is still unknown which powertrain will be used for the Casper Electric, but probably it will borrow from KIA Ray’s keicar that was updated recently.
