Kia officially announces its transition into a mobility solutions company

KUALA LUMPUR: The South-Korean automaker, Kia has made it official that it no longer will be a mere car production brand rather a mobility solutions company and will focus on establishing itself in developing more electrified vehicles in the coming years. Inspired by companies like Hyundai and Toyota, Kia plans to lead the electric vehicles market and expand its mobility services.

As a part of ‘Plan S’, the company targets to invest around KRW 29 trillion (RM 102 billion) by 2025 to diversify its business and become the market leader. Additionally, Kia looks to acquire 25 per cent shares of sales from eco-friendly vehicles and hold an EV market share of 6.6 per cent by the end of 2025. From 2026, the company aims to sell 500,000 electric vehicles annually. It expects to have a million EVs by 2026.

The CEO and president of Kia Motors, Han-woo Park said, “As the auto industry undergoes turbulent changes, today is also an opportune time for Kia Motors to radically transform itself into a global enterprise dedicated to spearheading customer value-led innovations. Kia Motors will actively innovate to take on the challenges ahead, identifying and capitalizing on new opportunities to propel the company forward.”

Not just this, the company will be revealing its new brand system later this year that will help it pursue innovations in areas like user experience, corporate and brand identity and design language. The company believes that it will help customers to understand and experience Kia’s evolution as an enterprise in mobility solutions and electrification.

While the company will be rolling out electric versions of the existing models, from SUVs to MPVs, in its range from 2022, a total of 11 new EV models will be out by 2025. In the year 2021, Kia will be revealing a new dedicated electric model built on an exclusive platform capable of housing different technologies and electric powertrains. This electric model will come with a travel range of more than 500 km and sub-20-minute high-speed charging time.

Autonomous robotaxis and on-demand roboshuttles for urban areas are some of the vehicles and mobility solutions the company is currently said to be working on. On the global front, Kia will be seeking collaboration with local partners in the regions where EVs are now popular to establish Mobility Hubs, with charging stations and vehicle maintenance labs.

These mobility hubs are aimed to serve as a bridge for combustion-based cars, which upon a possible future ban cannot enter certain parts of a city. Drivers can park their petrol/diesel-powered cars in these hubs and take an EV to enter the restricted areas. Along with this, Kia will also be entering into the Purpose Built Vehicle market amidst the growing e-commerce arena and car-sharing platforms.

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