Kia is transitioning from a vehicle manufacture to a provider of sustainable mobility solutions. As part of the change, the company has been renamed the Kia Corporation – formerly the Kia Motors Corporation – and announced a new brand slogan of “Movement that inspires.”
While a few eyes roll probably just
rolled, Kia’s Head of Global Brand & Customer Experience, Artur Martins,
explained “Movement has always been at heart of our brand, and moving people at
the core of our business. Movement helps humankind to constantly progress,
improve, and evolve. That is why at Kia we believe that movement inspires
ideas.”
The big news is Kia’s decision to focus on
popularizing battery electric vehicles. As part of this initiative, the company
will launch seven new dedicated BEVs by 2027. Each will be based on the
Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and Kia said we can expect a variety
of vehicles including cars, crossovers and MPVs.
Kia’s first E-GMP based model will be
introduced in the first quarter and it’s known as the CV. The company is
keeping details under wraps, but said it will feature a crossover-inspired
design, high-speed charging and a range in excess of 500 km. On top
of this, Kia is also developing purpose-built vehicles. They’ll be based on
flexible skateboard platforms and feature modular bodies that can be tailored
to meet specific requirements of corporate and fleet customers.
Kia noted demand for purpose-built
vehicles is expected to grow five-fold by 2030, due to growth in e-commerce and
car-sharing services. As a result, they’ve partnered with Arrival and Canoo,
and are slated to produce specialty vehicles for car-sharing and delivery
services. While Kia didn’t say much about the upcoming EVs, they teased an
assortment of them. There appears to three cars and two crossovers as well as
three or four commercial vehicles. We’ll learn more about them, and the
company’s new design direction, in the weeks ahead.