Hyundai unveiled plans to add solar panelling to electric and hybrid vehicles back in October 2018 and now its first production car featuring the technology is on sale.

The New Sonata Hybrid is available in Hyundai's homeland of South Korea and will also soon be introduced to the North American market. Sadly though, there are no plans to bring the car to Europe at present.

That's a shame as the solar roof system charges the vehicle's battery when stationary and driving, with between 30 and 60 per cent of battery capacity able to be replenished this way.

Hyundai New Sonata Hybrid With Solar Panel Roof Now On Sale image 2
Hyundai Motor Group

Hyundai claims that six hours of daily charging through the solar roof tech can increase distance by an extra 1,300km (around 808 miles) annually.

As well as the solar roof charging system, the New Sonata Hybrid also comes with a Smartstream G2.0 GDi HEV engine and 6-speed transmission. And, it supports the manufacturer's proprietary digital key functionality, with owners able to unlock their cars through their smartphones.

Hyundai will also be implementing its solar system on other cars in the future, but isn't the only manufacturer dabbling in the technology. The Lightyear One all-electric luxury saloon car was also launched this summer, which features solar panelling on the bonnet and roof.