Hyundai Motor Company is said to be planning to roll out new electric buses early next year, according to news reports Friday.

A representative of Hyundai Motor was quoted by reports saying the company’s electric bus development was underway and the company was looking to commercialize its new line in early 2018, adding that it was also scheduled to start trial operations in the second half of this year.

The country’s largest automaker had introduced the country’s first electric bus, the “Elec-City” line, in Korea in 2010, but failed to mass produce and commercialize the product because of the high costs.

The “Elec-City” is said to have a maximum speed output of 100 kilometers per hour and be able to travel roughly 120 kilometers on a full charge.

In keeping with the government’s push for increased use of emissions-free transportation, Hyundai’s upcoming green bus, however, will come with competition.

The domestic division of German automaker MAN Truck & Bus Korea recently unveiled its MAN Lion’s City, a low-floor city bus series fueled by natural gas, for the first time in Asia at the Seoul Motor Show last week.

The company also announced last week that it has agreed to dispatch compressed natural gas buses as well as 28 eco-friendly double-decker buses to various transportation operators in Gyeonggi Province, adding that Korea can expect to see its green buses hitting the streets by the end of this year.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)