Kia has given us a few more details of its upcoming electric car plans, with the company's president and CEO Ho Sung Song saying that by 2029, a quarter of all Kia's sales will be electric cars.
Plan S for electric expansion
Kia of course already has two all-electric models on sale - the e-Niro and the e-Soul, and they are among the most impressive electric cars you can currently buy - but they're based on existing combustion engine designs. The talk now is of standalone, electric-only models based on a new EV platform.
The 'Plan S' strategy will see Kia launch seven such EVs in the next seven years, starting next year with a new model codenamed 'CV.' That car is likely to be a low-slung crossover, based on the 'Imagine By Kia' concept shown last year.
"Kia has sold more than 100,000 EVs worldwide since the introduction of our first mass-produced BEV in 2011, the Kia Ray EV, " said CEO Song. "Since then, we have started to introduce a range of new BEVs for global markets and announced plans to accelerate this process in the years ahead. By refocusing our business on electrification, we are aiming for BEVs to account for 25 percent of our total worldwide sales by 2029."
By 2025, Kia wants to have 11 all-electric models on sale, and for electric sales to account for a fifth of all the company's sales, growing to a quarter before the end of the decade.
New modular electric platform
The company says that its new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) will allow its electric models to be exceptionally spacious, as well as being particularly stylish. While the darkened image shown off by Song doesn't give much away on the style front, you can see a clear family look for Kia's EVs, as well as a certain similarity to Hyundai's proposed 'Prophecy' electric sports saloon.
Kia's also going to look at more than just making and selling electric cars. The company says that it's exploring: "a diversified buying option for customers, as well as EV battery leasing and rental programs, and other 'second-life' battery-related businesses." There's also an expansion of electric car servicing training and preparation.
Charging network
Crucially, Kia is also getting involved on the charging side of things, with plans to install 1,500 high-speed chargers win Korea by 2030, mostly at Kia dealers. Along with Hyundai, Kia also has plans to install 120 Ultra-Fast Chargers by 2021 in urban centres and along twelve highways linking eight provinces across Korea.
Worldwide, Kia is establishing more than 2,400 EV chargers in Europe and around 500 in North America, partnering with its dealer networks. Kia plans to continue to increase its charging infrastructure in line with the growing market for EVs, and has joined the IONITY group, in which a number of major car makers have come together to invest in ultra-fast charging points.