Kia Addresses Affordable and Halo EV Products
Words NZ Autocar | Images Autocar UK, NetCarShow
Kia seems to be rounding out its electric offerings with what appear to be bookend models. The EV1 previews an electric city car to replace Picanto while a high-performance model appears to be the Stinger successor.
The Korean brand has trademarked names EV1 and EV2, both of which will clearly sit below the new EV3. This is the first hint of the former.
Kia’s president Ho-sung Song told Autocar UK recently that an electric city car would replace the Picanto eventually. However, that’s once the cost of producing an EV falls further (below 20,000 Euros). Kia expects that to be around the end of the decade.
The Korean firm believes the primary price reduction will involve battery technology as it scales up. Kia’s president said that currently it is almost impossible to target a sub 20,000 Euro city car, regardless of whether it is ICE power or electric.
Its EV2 is a supermini-sized electric vehicle, with a price point below 30,000 Euros. The expected date of release for this model is 2026. Kia also wants to target a sub-25,000 Euro EV but Song says that won’t happen in the next two years.
He did say that a halo model such as the Stinger GT but with an electric powertrain is under consideration. The versatility of the E-GMP skateboard-style platform (as in EV6 and EV9) makes such a car more viable due to the commonality of components with other models. All-wheel drive from a dual-motor layout and more than 447kW would be possible for a flagship model.
Song is unfazed about the current electric slowdown. He said the general trend in Europe is for increased EV uptake. He added incentives are still needed in the short term and the recent volatility was the result of governments removing financial incentives.
“In the meantime, most OEMs are trying our best to reduce the cost of EVs to provide a better price to our customers”.
He confirmed that solid-state batteries are under development at Kia and the outlook for the technology is positive. However, no date has been put on its showroom arrival.
