Kia President: "First Step Toward 'Electric Cars for Everyone'... Electrification Transition Will Continue as Planned"

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EV4 and EV5 to be Released Sequentially by Next Year
"We Will Resolve Price and Charging Infrastructure Obstacles"

"Regarding the popularization of electric vehicles (EVs), we plan to launch (new cars) as originally planned."

Kia President Song Ho-sung said this at the EV3 pre-press conference held on the 21st. Although the market outlook has darkened recently due to a slowdown in EV demand mainly in the domestic market, he viewed electrification transition as the right direction in the mid to long term.

At the Kia EV3 press conference, Kia President Song Ho-sung and other key executives are answering questions from the press.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

He predicted that EV demand would rebound if the needs of potential customers, such as high prices and still inconvenient charging infrastructure, are addressed. Earlier, Kia set EV sales targets of 1,005,000 units by 2026 and 1.6 million units by 2030 at last year's CEO Investor Day. They plan to release a total of 15 EV models, including commercial vehicles, by 2027.

President Song said, "When categorizing customers, about 10% are early adopters, and the next 40% are the early majority." He added, "We were chosen by early adopters with the previously introduced EV6 and EV9, but the early majority customers are very practical and price-sensitive, tending to consider costs."

Kia EV3 [Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

The slower-than-expected decline in EV prices is due to a temporary surge in demand over the past one to two years, which raised prices of key raw materials such as batteries. Although the number has increased significantly, EVs still account for only about 10% of all new cars, so economies of scale have not been achieved in the production process. Charging infrastructure is being expanded based on public funds, but it is still insufficient compared to internal combustion engines. There are also physical and technical constraints, such as the need to charge for a certain amount of time or longer.

Regarding the criticism that hybrids, which play an intermediate role in the electrification transition, might be taking away EV demand, President Song disagreed. He said, "There has been a prediction since the past that demand for internal combustion engine vehicles such as gasoline and diesel would shift to hybrids." He added, "Currently, six hybrid models are being released, which will increase to eight models in 2027 and nine models the following year." He emphasized that they will lead EV popularization with relatively affordable models like the EV3, EV4, and EV5, which will be released sequentially in the second half of this year and next year.

At the Kia EV3 press conference, Kia President Song Ho-sung and other key executives are answering questions from the press.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

The EV3, unveiled on the 23rd, is praised for being faithful to this EV popularization concept. The long-range model can travel over 500 km on a single charge. The basic model can be purchased starting from the mid-30 million KRW range. This expands options for customers hesitant to buy EVs.

Despite being a compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), it fully utilizes the advantages of being an EV to design the interior space efficiently. Both the first and second-row seats can recline backward, and a removable table is placed in the front seats for use as needed. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features applied in the higher-end EV9 model are included, along with entertainment functions such as video streaming and gaming, and an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant feature.

Pablo Martinez, head of Kia's CXD division, explained, "The large language model applied this time is ChatGPT provided by OpenAI." He added, "In the U.S., we collaborate with SoundHound; in Europe, with Cerence; in Korea, with Kakao; and we will use an in-house solution provided by 42dot."