Kia introduces two new electric vehicles on the 12th…aggressive expansion of lineup

Kia will unveil detailed specifications of two new pure electric concept cars and a compact electric SUV EV5 at EV Day to be held in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do on the 12th next week. EV Day is held for the first time this year as an opportunity to showcase Kia’s electric vehicles and technologies. On this day, Hyundai Motor Group released a silhouette image and video teaser showing its electric vehicle lineup that will be expanded to include “three new small and medium-sized electric vehicle models.”

Looking at the silhouette image, the daytime running lights of the EV6 and EV9 sold in Korea can be seen on the far left and right, and the EV5, which was unveiled at the Chengdu Motor Show in China last August, is located in the center. The remaining two vehicles are confirmed to be new pure electric concept cars that will be unveiled for the first time on the 12th.

The second vehicle from the left is confirmed to be a slim coupe-type sedan. Vertical daytime running lights were adopted, reflecting Kia’s latest design philosophy, Offers United. If you slightly increase the brightness of the released image, you can see that the ride height is quite high. Kia’s first electric sedan is likely to adopt crossover styling like the EV6 rather than traditional sedan styling.

The fourth vehicle is identified as EV3 or EV4. There is a high possibility of the EV3 as a lower-level model of the EV5, which is positioned as a mid-sized electric SUV. Through the silhouette image, you can see that a box-type SUV design influenced by the EV9 has been applied. It appears to be the successor model to the Soul EV. It is developed based on the integrated modular architecture (hereinafter referred to as IMA) rather than the E-GMP platform that has been used previously. IMA is a next-generation platform that will be applied to 13 types of electric vehicles from Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, and Genesis in the future.

Kia also plans to announce detailed specifications of the EV5 on this day. The specifications known so far for EV5 are body size and powertrain specifications for the Chinese domestic market. First, the body size is similar to the Sportage, with a total length of 4615mm, a total width of 1875mm, a total height of 1715mm, and a wheelbase of 2750mm.

The partially revealed EV5 Chinese domestic powertrain is equipped with an electric motor with a maximum output of 215 horsepower (160 kW) and a maximum torque of 31.6 kg.m only on the front wheels. China’s BYD’s Blade LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery pack was adopted. The capacity is 82kWh.

In China, the EV5 price starts at 159,800 yuan (about 29 million won). It competes directly with the Tesla Model Y. On the 12th, Kia will reveal detailed specifications for the EV5, as well as the platform and domestic specifications installed on the EV5.

Meanwhile, Kia aims to sell 1.6 million electric vehicles per year by 2030 and launch 15 new electric vehicles by 2027.

Editor Seo Dong-min dm.seo@carguy.kr