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Kia has joined hands with Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City to create a future mobility industry ecosystem.

Song Hoseong, President of Kia. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

On the 6th, Kia announced that President Song Ho-sung, President Choi Jun-young in charge of domestic production, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeong-geun, and others attended the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the creation of a future mobility industry ecosystem based on Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV) at Autoland Hwaseong.

This agreement was made by combining Kia’s vision to realize a 'Platform Beyond Vehicle' and the intentions of Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City to become a future mobility innovation city by utilizing PBVs.

According to the agreement, Kia will proceed as planned with the construction of the Hwaseong Ibo Plant, the world’s first PBV-dedicated factory, while Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City will support various related permits and infrastructure improvements.

Additionally, Kia, Gyeonggi Province, and Hwaseong City will cooperate to discover new business models and participate in national public projects necessary to revitalize the mobility industry. They will also jointly develop PBV mobility services to improve transportation convenience within the region.

Specifically, Kia plans to review the introduction and operation of PBV-based Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) models in Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City. Furthermore, they will collaborate in various ways to establish a sustainable energy environment, including the creation of bidirectional Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging infrastructure.

Kia expects that this agreement will serve as a foundation to secure future mobility competitiveness and successfully build the PBV ecosystem.

President Song Ho-sung said, "This strategic collaboration will be the cornerstone for developing and expanding customized PBV mobility solutions," adding, "Based on Kia’s innovative technology, we will contribute to making Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City the center of the future mobility industry."

Meanwhile, last month at the '2025 Kia EV Day,' Kia unveiled its business strategy for PBVs, a 'customized mobility solution' integrating vehicles and software solutions developed from the customer’s perspective. This strategy aims to create new value in various business environments and transform the mobility paradigm based on three innovative elements: vehicle product competitiveness, software solutions, and manufacturing.

This year, Kia plans to introduce the first dedicated PBV, the 'PV5,' featuring a customized vehicle structure and various advanced new technologies based on the PBV-exclusive platform (E-GMP.S).