Kia will launch at least five electric vehicles (EVs) by 2027. It’s part of an attempt to reimagine the company’s entire global presence.
The company has dropped the word “motors” from its name, and recently unveiled a new logo. In explaining its new strategy, Kia provides glimpses of nine EVs, at least five of which appear close to launch. The models hide behind heavy shadows and colorful lights, giving us only an impression of each.
Imaginatively named EV1 through EV9, they include:
- A vehicle the company called a “fun, practical commuter,” shaped much like the current Kia Soul.
- A car bearing some resemblance to Kia sister company Hyundai’s Veloster. Kia called this one a “powerful and dynamic crossover.”
- A “strong and bold SUV” that appears large enough to carry three rows, though we wouldn’t guarantee that.
- What Kia calls an “agile and dynamic machine.” The machine, in this case, appears to be another car. It shares some lines with the current Kia Stinger, a midsize sedan with an emphasis on performance.
- A “long and elegant sedan” that may be larger than anything in the current Kia lineup.
- Four less showroom-ready vehicles likely not intended for consumers anytime soon, including a “micro-autonomous pod” and what may be an autonomous electric shuttle bus.
New platform
The vehicles will use the new E-GMP platform revealed by Hyundai last month. Kia says the platform recharges to 80 percent of its full capacity in 18 minutes – a detail Hyundai hadn’t revealed. The first of the new EVs could be ready for market late this quarter, and we’d bet on it being one of the smaller models that borrow heavily from one of the current Kia models American drivers are used to seeing.
Kia CEO Ho Sung Song says the company is “breaking away from our traditional manufacturing-driven business model and expanding into new emerging business areas,” which will include building mobility solutions that aren’t just consumer cars.
Kia plans to use the E-GMP platform to build custom vehicles for corporate customers, such as logistics and delivery vehicles targeted to complete specific tasks for just one buyer. Song also touted a move toward “eco-friendly mobility services, centered on electric and autonomous driving across major global cities.”
Internal Combustion isn’t out of the company’s plans just yet, though – Song says Kia hopes to sell 800,000 EVs per year by 2030. That number is less than a third of the 2.61 million cars it sold globally in 2020.
