Kia teases new electric crossover, details seven-year EV plan

South Korean carmaker Kia has revealed more details of its electrification strategy along with a new logo, including a plan to release seven dedicated electric vehicle (EV) models by 2027.

As part of its “Plan S” strategy, in which the carmaker is targeting 25% of sales to be electric by 2029, Kia also shared that it would turn to the use of renewable energy and recycled materials to create more sustainable production processes.

Kia has previously stated it would release 11 new electric vehicle models by 2025, including a range of “PBVs” (purpose-built-vehicles).

It already has two electric vehicles on the market including the UK market-topping Kia e-Niro, which it recently confirmed would be made available in Australia in 2021, and the e-Soul urban car. It also sells a plug-in hybrid version of the Niro and Optima.

The point of difference in Friday’s announcement was that the new seven-year plan was to release a range of electric vehicles built on a dedicated platform, as opposed to the above models which, like sister auto manufacturer Hyundai’s Kona EV, was first made as an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle.

Hyundai in mid-2020 revealed a similar plan to release electric-only vehicles, starting with a range of electric vehicles built on its e-GMP platform released under the Ioniq name.

Kia will make its electric-only range using the same e-GMP platform and said the first model in this new range would be unveiled in the first quarter of 2021.

This will likely be the high-performance Kia “CV”, which was first announced in May 2020 and will be based on its Imagine concept vehicle. It will have a charging time of under 20 minutes, and a driving range of more than 500 kilometres, says Kia.

It will also be the first vehicle globally to sport Kia’s new logo, which was announced alongside the new seven-year plan. With the new logo, which the carmaker says reflects “movement that inspires”, Kia is officially dropping “Motors” from its name.

It is not known yet if the new electric vehicle will be available in Australia.

Kia only recently confirmed the long-awaited e-Niro, which was first slated for a launch to coincide with the 2020 Australian Open tennis championship but then delayed due to a lack of federal government support for electric vehicles. The e-Niro will come to Australia in 2021.

Kia is targeting a 6.6% battery electric vehicle market share by 2025 and hopes to sell 500,000 a year by 2026.