Hybrid Kinetic Group might not be the catchiest brand name you're going to hear about this week, and it's far from a household name yet, even in its own industry. But HKG is now at the forefront of the rush towards electrifying the motor industry as it has just revealed another Pininfarina-designed electric model called the H500. The new H500 is a smaller sedan sibling to the recently revealed H600 and is due to get its full reveal at the upcoming Beijing motor show on April 25.
It's an electric model that uses micro-turbine range-extender technology and shares a platform and its powertrain tech with the H600 and HKG's other models, the HK GT coupe and K550 and K750 SUVs. Although full details of this latest new model have yet to be released, what's so exciting about this and other HKG models is the powertrain technology they are all going to share that offers driving ranges of up to 621 miles and battery packs that have life spans of 50,000 charge-cycles.
All there is to go on so far are the preview images that reveal the H500 to be a four-door model with a rear roofline that extends further towards the back than is usual for a sedan. This gives the H500 the kind of silhouette normally associated with cars where rear head room is prioritized, such as the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo that's of a similar size.
This kind of body shape is typical of current Chinese vehicle design trends where cars with generous amounts of rear leg and head room are very much favored, much more so than they are in most other countries. The likes of Jaguar already produce long-wheelbase versions of its XE and XF sedans, and a number of American manufacturers also do well in China with their elongated models.
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What's heartening about the H500 for those people who like the idea of actually driving their car themselves is the interior image showing a wrap-around dashboard and a steering wheel. There's no doubt an eventual production model will incorporate some elements of driverless technology, as will other HKG models that are due to start hitting the roads later this year, but at least we'll have the option to drive them if we prefer.
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