Kia's PBV 'Niro Plus'... Surpasses 10,000 Units in Contracts

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Kia's first purpose-built mobility (PBV), the 'Niro Plus,' has surpassed 10,000 contracts within four months of its launch.

According to Kia on the 25th, as of the 23rd, the cumulative number of contracts for the Niro Plus was recorded at over 11,000 units.

The Niro Plus is a derivative PBV based on the first-generation Niro electric vehicle (EV) released in 2018. About half of the over 11,000 cumulative contracts were for the taxi model.

When asked why they purchased the Niro Plus taxi (multiple responses allowed), 24% of respondents chose the '300,000 km battery warranty,' making it the most selected reason. The '300,000 km battery warranty' is uniquely applied only to the Niro Plus among Kia's EV models. This was followed by maintenance costs (18%), vehicle price (13%), and relatively short waiting time (10%).

For the Niro Plus taxi-exclusive model, Kia explained that the 'all-in-one display,' which integrates navigation with a taxi meter and a driving recorder, is a representative specialized feature. Kia plans to add Kakao Taxi call service functionality to the all-in-one display within this year.