While Hyundai is set to launch a new IONIQ brand for its electric vehicles, Kia also has some major plans for its electric future. Kia recently released a dark sketch of seven electric vehicles that it plans to introduce by 2027. The push for more electric vehicles from the South Korean brand is its way of wanting battery-powered EVs to account for 25% of its global vehicle sales by 2029.
Details about Kia’s upcoming electric vehicles are light. What we do know, is that the automaker’s first “dedicated BEV” carrying the codename CV will launch in 2021. The electric vehicle will also be used to highlight Kia’s new design direction. Information about what kind of vehicle the first BEV will be aren’t available, but we have a sneaking suspicion that it will be some kind of crossover or SUV. Regardless of what kind of body style it is, CV is “destined for many regions globally.”
In addition to introducing new battery-powered electric vehicles, Kia also plans to become a leader in the global EV market by partnering with EV charging companies to expand EV charging infrastructure. Most likely, that means Kia will work with another company to manufacture charging stations, similar to what Electrify America and EVgo did last year.
The seven new electric vehicles are part of Kia’s “Plan S” strategy. That was announced earlier this year and will see the automaker’s lineup of electric vehicles expand to include 11 models by 2025. Over the next five years, Plan S will also see electric vehicles account for 20% of Kia’s total vehicle sales in “advanced markets” that include North America, Europe, and Korea.
Kia claims that it’s sold more than 100,000 battery-powered electric vehicles since 2011. Currently, the only fully electric vehicle the automaker sells is the Niro EV. The subcompact SUV has a range of 239 miles and starts at $40,210 including destination. The Soul EV was supposed to go on sale in 2019, but has been delayed until the 2021 model year. The electric hatchback is expected to have a range of 243 miles.
Unlike Kia, Hyundai has a more straightforward plan. The other South Korean brand has two electric vehicles – the Hyundai Kona Electric and the IONIQ Electric – and plans to add more under a new IONIQ brand. In the near future, Hyundai plans to unveil three new EVs, including the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, and IONIQ 7. The IONIQ 5 and 7 are SUVs, while the IONIQ 6 will be a sedan. The IONIQ 5 will be the first EV to be launched under the new IONIQ brand and is expected to arrive in 2021, the same time as Kia’s CV.
Nearly every automaker that sells vehicles has some sort of electrification plan as regulations get tougher to meet. Some, like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and BMW have introduced brands for their electric vehicles, other automakers like General Motors and Ford have broadly stated that they’ll introduce new EVs over the next few years. GM’s plans include 20 new EVs by 2023 across its lineup of automakers.
The few automakers that have been quiet on the electric front include Honda and Toyota. While Toyota offers quite a few electrified vehicles (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell vehicles), the automaker doesn’t have a battery-powered vehicle in its lineup because it doesn’t think there’s enough demand to warrant it. Honda recently came out with the E, a tiny electric city car that isn’t sold in the U.S., and has plans to introduce a second one in the near future, but it doesn’t have a massive plan to drastically increase its EV lineup.
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