Kia and Hyundai mini EVs to hit the streets in 2023

As electric cars gain popularity in Australia and many other parts of the world, there is increased focus on smaller city electric cars that have mainly been missing from the EV line ups of most major car makers.

That’s set to change with Hyundai and Kia likely launching smaller EV models according to reports from theelec. The news comes after Hyundai’s collaboration with battery giant CATL on Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) is starting to gain momentum according to the latest report.

Hyundai Motor Group will start to use CATL’s pack-based LFP batteries in a small city electric car this year. 

Hyundai traditionally uses Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) based cells in its Ioniq and other products due to higher battery densities. This of course comes at a premium, making those vehicles more expensive.

The news of Hyundai considering LFP batteries comes on the back of Kia’s upcoming launch of its next-generation Ray EV. This vehicle is mainly sold in Kia’s home market of South Korea.

The Ray EV is designed to have a smaller battery allowing it to do mainly city commutes. With the use of LFP batteries from CATL, Kia can lower the price of the Ray EV offering allowing more buyers to be able to get behind the wheel of a city electric car.

The pricing and specifications of the upcoming Ray EV are yet to be announced but it’s expected to use a 400 V architecture unlike the Hyundai’s Ioniq or Kia EV6 which uses an 800 V architecture. 

The next generation Kia Ray EV and Hyundai city car is expected to be using a new BorgWarner drivetrain coupled with the CATL LFP battery pack.

That allows those EVs to charge much faster than the likes of the Kia Ray EV but it’s also not as important for a city car with a much smaller battery.

The current generation of the Kia’s Ray comes in at:

• 3,595 mm in length
• 1,595 mm in width
• 1,700 mm in height

Length and width-wise, the Kia Ray is comparable to the ICE Kia Picanto. According to vFacts, 5,166 Kia Picanto were sold making it a fairly popular city hatchback.

The Kia Ray EV was originally launched in 2011 with a 16.4 kWh battery pack with an expected range of around 138 km on the NEDC cycle.

Other mini-city EVs are also on the cards with brands like Daihatsu signing a battery deal with CATL late last year.

The launch of the LFP battery-equipped city EVs by Hyundai and Kia could be the start of more affordable electric cars hitting the market in years to come.