Hyundai and Kia have developed a new hybrid vehicle which will harness the power of the sun, helping to provide an additional range of 800 miles per year.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid features solar panels in its roof which will pull in an 30-60% charge to the 1.76kWh battery over a period of six hours.

The Sonata will go on sale in Korea and North America with the aim of boosting the vehicle’s fuel efficiency and reduce its CO2 emissions.

“Solar roof technology is a good example of how Hyundai Motor is moving towards becoming a clean mobility provider,” said Heui Won Yang, senior vice president and head of the body technology unit of the Hyundai Motor Group. “The technology allows our customers to actively tackle [the] emissions issue.”

“We are striving to further expand the application of the technology beyond [our] eco-friendly vehicle line up to vehicles with [an] internal combustion engine.”

The technology is expected to be rolled out across a range of Hyundai and Kia cars over the coming years, though there are no current plans to put the Sonata into the European markets.

Future systems will be incorporated into a panoramic sun-roof, while the third generation is already in testing and is intended to boost the output of pure electric cars.

Hyundai are joined by Toyota and Dutch company Lightyear in pioneering the use of solar as an alternative technology.

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