Kia bets big on EVs
Korean firm’s £19bn EV plans laid out in full
KIA has outlined plans to create an 11-strong line-up of fully electric vehicles by 2025, with a dedicated electric model, capable of more than 311 miles on a single charge, due on sale by 2021.
It’s part of a £19billion programme that Kia has dubbed ‘Plan S’. This sets the company a target of hitting one million sales of ‘eco-friendly’ (a mix of low and zeroemission) vehicles by 2026. Half of these will be full EVs by the brand’s own sums.
The new EV is expected to be a production version of the Imagine concept, a highroofed fastback first shown at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, roughly between the size of the X-Ceed and the Sportage.
At last year’s show, Kia’s head of design, Luc Donkerwolke, told Auto Express that the Imagine would eventually see the light of day as a production car, hailing the concept as an “emotional flagship” for the brand.
It’ll use a brand new electric platform with enough battery capacity to unlock that 311 mile-plus range target, while boasting new tech that will enable a sub-20 minute recharge where possible. Kia says it is working on vehicles with 800-volt electrical systems, technology which is comparable with that in the Porsche Taycan.
Beyond ground-up EVs, Kia will continue to electrify existing models. It currently produces the Soul EV and e-Niro, plus the Korean-market Bongo 3 EV commercial vehicle. Electric cars, SUVs and MPVs will be created, some developed as derivatives of petrol-powered cars, while others will join the 2021 EV as bespoke models.
Further to the electric car plan, Kia is also turning its attention to the Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV) market. On entering this sector, Kia says that it will firstly target corporate rather than private customers. Hubs for charging and maintaining the vehicles will have to be built, while the PBVs themselves – described as “mini-size driverless delivery cars and robotaxis”
– will use a new modular ‘skateboard’style electric platform, enabling different bodies to be mounted on top of the chassis for different use cases.
“A production car based on the Imagine concept will be an ‘emotional flagship’ for Kia”