South Korean carmaker Kia recently announced their intention of launching a portfolio that consists of autonomous vehicles that are geared towards sustainability as well. In their 2022 CEO Investor Day meet, the company detailed their roadmap to 2030. A major takeaway from this was the announcement that Kia EV9 will be the company’s first autonomous EV. It is set to launch in 2023 globally.
The EV9 is going to be an SUV that will be more than 5 metres in length. Despite the size, Kia claims that it will have a 0-100kmph time of five seconds and boast a range of almost 540km per charge. Through fast charging, it should provide a range of 100km in just six minutes. As mentioned before, it will be the first autonomous vehicle from Kia, dubbed AutoMode. Like many other manufacturers, the EV9 will also support OTA (Over the Air) updates and FoD (Feature on Demand) services. In fact, all Kia vehicles launched in 2025 and beyond will have connected features and support OTA and FoD.
By 2026, all new models launched in major markets will be available with AutoMode autonomous driving technology that will support features like the ability to drive on highways without driver intervention. The company plans to further upgrade AutoMode technology and implement fully autonomous driving technology.
Apart from this, Kia also plans to have a robust lineup of 14 BEVs by 2027 with two new models being launched every year, starting from 2023. The company previously had plans to launch 11 BEVs by 2026 but now have decided to add two EV pickup trucks and an entry-level BEV to the mix. The complete Kia lineup in all major countries will be entirely made up of
Through these endeavours, Kia is targeting 4 billion annual says globally by 2030. Out of this, 1.2 billion vehicles will be BEVs. Kia also wants to be a leader in PBVs (Purpose Built Vehicles) and will be launching the Niro Plus by the end of this year. Based on the Niro SUV, the Niro Plus will be deployed for taxi service as well as car-hailing services. Future PBVs will be based on the company’s skateboard EV platform and will be all-new models, with the very first one set to launch in 2025.