Rebranded Kia to unveil first fully electric vehicle this quarter

The car maker plans to sell more than 500,000 EVs a year by 2026

Kia plans to include electrified sedans, SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles in the new line-up. Bloomberg

Kia Corporation, a unit of South Korea’s biggest automaker Hyundai Motor, will this quarter unveil the first of seven electric vehicles it plans to introduce by 2027.

Kia, which has changed the colours and font on its logo as well as dropped ‘Motors’ from its name, plans to include electrified sedans, sport-utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles in the new line-up, the company's chief executive Ho Sung Song said.

The company plans to sell more than 500,000 EVs a year by 2026 and 800,000 by 2030, he said.

Kia is investing $26 billion through 2025 on its EV line-up and expansion into future mobility such as autonomous vehicles. The automaker will be sharing Hyundai Motor’s EV-dedicated platform, which enables cars to be 80 per cent charged in 18 minutes.

“We are breaking away from our traditional manufacturing-driven business model and expanding into new emerging business areas,” Mr Song said.

“We see EVs as one of the important businesses in the future. Europe, the US and South Korea will be our main markets,” he added.

The car maker is also developing a so-called skateboard platform that can produce purpose-built vehicles based on customers’ needs, Mr Song said. Kia plans to introduce a model on the platform as early as 2024, he said.

Demand for the vehicles, which could focus on logistics and delivery, is expected to jump five-fold by 2030, helped by a rapid growth in e-commerce and car-sharing services, according to Kia.

The company aims to sell 2.92 million vehicles globally this year, up 12 per cent from 2.61 million in 2020.