After Hyundai, Kia is also unveiling extensive electrification plans. In 2027, the brand will have no fewer than 14 fully electric cars in its range, including an electric city car and two electric pick-ups!
Like Hyundai, Kia has serious plans when it comes to electric cars. The Kia EV6 gets a whole set of fully electric brothers, which, like the EV6, are hung under the EV label of the brand. There is, among other things, a large SUV in the barrel that will be called EV9, but it absolutely does not stop there. Kia says it will have no fewer than 14 fully electric cars in its international portfolio by 2027. With this, the brand has sharpened its plans considerably. Previously, Kia aimed to have 11 EVs worldwide by 2026.
From 2023, Kia will expand its range annually with at least two fully electric models. The brand already lifts a corner of the veil and says it will not only come with two electric pick-ups, but also with a cheap electric entry-level model. Don’t be surprised if Kia dares to develop a new electric city car. An electrical equivalent of the Picanto is possible, so that could be very interesting.
Kia Concept EV9
Kia also releases new information about the production version of the EV9 Concept that should be on the market in 2023. That EV9 will be Kia’s electric flagship and will be about five meters long. The electric SUV should be able to sprint from standstill to a speed of 100 km/h in about five seconds, although the intended range of 540 kilometers is of course much more interesting.
Of course, the announcement of the intended EV range comes with the announcement of firm targets for EV sales. Kia plans to sell 160,000 electric cars worldwide this year. In 2026 this should be 807,000, in 2030 no less than 1.2 million. With this, Kia has tightened its sales target for 2030 by 36 percent. Kia’s total worldwide sales – which also includes cars with combustion engines – should end at 3.15 million units this year. In 2030 there should be 4 million, more than a quarter more.
Niro Plus
More news? Certainly. Kia will build its electric cars in the markets where they are most popular. For example, Kia wants to start producing small and medium-sized EVs in Europe from 2025 and medium-sized SUVs and pick-ups should roll off the production line in the United States a year earlier. Kia currently needs 13 GWh of batteries for its cars annually. This is expected to be no less than 119 GWh by 2030. It does not stop at fully electric cars, however, as Kia also says it intends to sell plug-ins and conventional hybrid models. The brand also speaks of the arrival of the Niro Plus, a model developed on the basis of the new Niro that is specially intended for taxi companies and car-sharing services.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl