Green vehicles in America attend to be mostly hybrids, though there are a few fully electric vehicles on the U.S. market today like the Tesla Roadster. Hyundai has unveiled its first entry into the full electric vehicle market and the car is called the BlueOn. Hyundai reports that the BlueOn is its first full-speed electric vehicle.

The car has a top speed of 81 mph and can travel for 87 miles on a single charge. Hyundai reports that the car was developed completely in its home country of Korea and is the result of an investment of about $34 million USD in development costs. The BlueOn is based on the Hyundai i10 hatchback that was unveiled in 2009 at the Frankfurt Motor show.

The BlueOn is 141 inches long overall with a width of 63 inches and a height of 61 inches making for a very small car. The electric motor in the car is powered by a LiPoly battery with 16.4 kWh of power. The electric motor produces 61kW (about 82 horsepower) of power maximum and the max torque rating is 210nm (about 120 lbs-ft). Hyundai says that the reason it chose LiPoly for the battery pack rather than NiMH batteries is that the LiPoly battery pack is 30% lighter and has 40% less volume while delivering the same power.

The performance of the BlueOn is rated at 0-100km/h (62mph) in 13.1 seconds, which Hyundai points out is better performance than some gasoline vehicles in the class. The BlueOn is also equipped with a Virtual Engine Sound system that creates artificial sound for pedestrian safety.

"We are proud to introduce the world to BlueOn, which was fully developed in Korea and displays Hyundai’s latest technological advancements,” said Dr. Hyun-Soon Lee, Vice Chairman at Hyundai’s Corporate R&D Center. “Consumers’ interests and demand for eco-friendly cars are rising and securing such advanced technology is critical in becoming an industry leader. Hyundai is dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint and satisfying market needs.

The BlueOn can be charged in two ways: via either a 220V household plug or a 380V high power outlet for quicker charging. With the 380V charge method the vehicle can be charged to 80% capacity within 25 minutes. Hyundai announced that it will be working with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and other agencies to build charging stations.

The vehicle also has a 4.2-inch TFT LCD screen that shows the charge state of the battery pack and shows the driver locations for nearby charging stations. Hyundai plans to build 2,500 units be the end of 2012 and will start to expand its manufacturing capacity for BlueOn next year. 
Hyundai has stated previously that it plans to have a 50mpg fleet average by 2025.