Kia is dropping the Motors from its name as it plans to expand into new and emerging business areas by creating innovative mobility products in support of its new slogan: Movement that inspires.
“At Kia, we believe that transportation, mobility and movement represent a human right. Our vision is to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities and societies globally,” said Ho Sung Song, president and CEO of Kia Corp.
As part of Kia’s new brand and Plan S business strategy, the company plans to expand its business to encompass EVs, mobility solutions and services, purpose-built vehicles and more. Alongside these efforts, Kia will simultaneously promote more sustainable production through the usage of clean energy and recyclable materials.
Kia plans to introduce seven new dedicated battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2027, with models ranging from passenger vehicles, SUVs and MPVs across several segments, each incorporating industry-leading technology for long-range driving and high-speed charging from Hyundai Motor Group’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
The purpose-built vehicles (PVBs) are aimed at corporate customers. They will be specialized vehicles based on flexible “skateboard” platforms, with modular bodies designed to meet the specific mobility needs of a broad range of corporate and fleet customers. The company expects demand for PBVs to grow five-fold by 2030, due to rapid and sustained growth in e-commerce and car-sharing services.
Kia has been expanding its global partnerships with mobility solutions since 2018, when it first partnered with Grab, Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing service, food delivery and payment solutions company. Since then, it has continued to enter into partnerships facilitating electric and autonomous driving, including in car-sharing ventures.
Kia’s BEVs will be revealed later this quarter, embodying its shift towards electrification. Its BEV will boast a crossover-inspired design while offering electric driving range of more than 400 kilometers (about 250 miles) and a high-speed charging time of under 20 minutes. It will also be the first model to bear Kia’s new logo. The company is targeting a 6.6% share of the global BEV market by 2025, with global annual sales of 500,000 BEVs by 2026.
“We want our products to deliver an instinctive and natural experience that can improve the daily lives of our customers. Our aim is to design the physical experience of our brand and to create original, inventive and exciting electric vehicles,” said Karim Habib, senior vice president, head of Kia Global Design Center. “The ideas of our designers and the purpose of the brand are more connected than ever, with our customers at the center of what we do.”
Kia has a manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia, where the company currently produces the Optima sedan, and the Sorento and Telluride SUVs.
