The all-electric Soul boxcar can run 152 km per charge on the highway and 202 km in downtown driving. It takes only 23-33 minutes for the car's battery to reach peak capacity through fast charging and five hours 40 minutes for it to be charged completely via conventional charging, South Korea's No. 2 carmaker said.

"The 2018 Soul EV went on sale Tuesday in the domestic market and exports are expected to begin within the next few months," a company spokesman said without elaborating.

The pure EV carries a price tag of 42.8 million won ($37,800) but it is available at 16.8 million-28.8 million won with government subsidies worth at least 14 million won, he said.

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, the world's fifth-largest automotive conglomerate, said it sold a total of 21,000 Soul EVs worldwide last year. (Yonhap)