Song laying out Kia’s future EV product strategy.
SEOUL: Kia Motors Corporation is betting on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plans to introduce seven new fully electric vehicles by 2027 across several vehicle segments.
The first model, code-named CV, would be launched in 2021 and reveal Kia’s new design direction. It would be sold in many regions globally. Kia said the new model would offer the same competitive product quality and eye-catching design as Kia’s other vehicles, with high-performance driving and recharging characteristics.
It would establish a leadership position in the global EV market by responding to fast-growing global consumer demand for EVs. The brand would partner with EV charging companies worldwide to achieve this. It said it aims to offer a range of models suitable for urban centres, long-range journeys, and performance driving.
Under Kia’s "Plan S" strategy, announced at the start of 2020, the brand plans to expand its BEV line-up to 11 models by 2025. Over the same period, Kia is aiming for BEVs to account for 20 percent of the brand’s total vehicle sales in advanced markets, including Korea, North America and Europe.
Kia said it would be able to offer vehicles with best-in-class interior spaciousness by adapting its new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
It is exploring the creation of subscription services to offer a diversified buying option for customers, as well as EV battery leasing and rental programs, and other "second-life" battery-related businesses.
The company aims to increase its number of dedicated EV work bays in South Korea to 1,200 by 2030. In other markets worldwide, Kia will increase its number of EV work bays to 600 by the end of this year, and more than 2,000 by 2023. Kia also plans to develop its own programmes to train EV maintenance professionals.
Worldwide, Kia is setting up over 2,400 EV chargers in Europe and around 500 in North America, partnering with its dealer networks.
Kia said it and parent company Hyundai Motor plans to continue to increase its charging infrastructure in line with the growing market for EVs.
In South Korea, Kia would rely on its existing network of nationwide sales branches, dealerships and service centres to set up 1,500 EV chargers by 2030. Hyundai Motor would install 120 ultra-fast chargers by 2021 in urban centres and along 12 highways linking eight provinces across the country.
“Kia has sold more than 100,000 BEVs worldwide since the introduction of our first mass-produced BEV in 2011, the Kia Ray EV, " Kia president and CEO Ho Sung Song said during an event at the brand’s Hwasung plant in South Korea.
"Since then, we have started to introduce a range of new BEVs for global markets and announced plans to accelerate this process in the years ahead. By refocusing our business on electrification, we are aiming for BEVs to account for 25 percent of our total worldwide sales by 2029.”
In a related development, a union official claimed Kia has halted production at a factory near here since yesterday because eight of its workers have been infected by the Covid-19 virus.
The plant produces models such as the Carnival and Rio.
