New Kia roadmap outlines plans to offer 14 electric vehicles by 2027

Kia is hoping to become a leader in sustainable mobility with its roadmap to 2030, with plans for a 14-strong EV lineup by 2027.

The roadmap builds on Kia’s ‘Plan S’ strategy first announced in 2020 and reveals further details on how the company will achieve its vision to become a sustainable mobility solutions provider.

This corporate vision is supported by three key pillars – ‘people’, ‘planet’ and ‘profit’. Under these pillars, Kia will strive to enhance customer value and nurture talents, reduce carbon emissions in consideration for the environment, and generate profits while working as a responsible corporate citizen.

Kia also announced its four key business targets for 2030. These core business aims include: accelerating electrification and achieving annual sales of 1.2 million battery electric vehicle (BEV) units by 2030; reaching four million annual vehicle sales by 2030, including over two million eco-friendly models; expanding the application of connected car feature and autonomous driving technologies to all new vehicles; and become the number one brand in the global purpose-built vehicle (PBV) market by 2030.

During the CEO Investor Day event, Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Corporation, said: “Kia has been undergoing a full-scale transformation which has included changes in corporate vision, logo, product and design, and strategy. To achieve the company’s vision of becoming a Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider, we will focus on accelerating the transition to future business models. We will become even more customer-centric in our approach and pursue a dynamic transformation while maintaining sound business operations.”

Starting with an annual global sales goal of 3.15 million units in 2022, Kia aims to achieve four million units in 2030, a 27 per cent increase from Kia’s target for 2022.

The company will also expand sales of eco-friendly vehicles (including BEVs, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) through enabling and accelerating its electrification efforts. It will also expand the proportion of eco-friendly cars from 17 per cent of global sales in 2022 to 52 per cent in 2030.

In major markets with strong environmental regulations and a growing demand for EVs, such as Korea, North America, Europe and China, Kia plans to increase its proportion of eco-friendly car sales by up to 78 per cent by 2030.

BEV line-up expanding to 14 BEV models in 2027 

Starting in 2023, Kia plans to launch at least two BEVs per year and build a full line-up of 14 BEVs by 2027. Compared to its previous plan to release 11 models by 2026, Kia will add two electric pickup trucks – a dedicated electric pickup truck and a strategic model for emerging markets – and an entry-level BEV model.

Kia also aims to increase sales of its BEVs. Starting with 160,000 BEV sales this year, Kia aims to sell 807,000 units in 2026 and 1.2 million in 2030 – a 36 per cent increase from the 2030 EV target announced during last year’s CEO Investor Day.

It projects that over 80 per cent of its BEV sales in 2030 will come from Korea, North America, Europe and China, with BEVs taking a 45 per cent share of total Kia sales in these major markets.

To accommodate this expanding volume of EVs, the roles of individual production sites will evolve. Korea will serve as a global hub for research, development, production and supply of EVs, while other global production sites will produce strategic EVs for each market.

In Europe, for example, small and medium-sized EVs will be produced starting from 2025. In the United States, where mid-sized SUVs and pickups are popular, electric versions of these models will be produced locally from 2024. In China, Kia plans to introduce mid-size electric vehicle models from next year, and India plans to produce entry and mid-size EV models from 2025.

The manufacturer is also planning to establish a battery supply and demand strategy and upgrade battery technology as demand is expected to increase significantly from 13GWh to 119GWh in 2030 due to increased EV sales.

Kia plans to supply batteries from the Indonesian battery cell joint venture and will simultaneously establish a stable battery supply and demand system by outsourcing to global battery companies.

In addition, the company plans to increase battery energy density by 50 per cent by 2030 and reduce system costs by 40 per cent, thereby enhancing both performance and price competitiveness.