As of now, Kia says it will stop selling non-EVs in Europe in 2035 and globally by 2040. However, depending on what happens with legislation and the pace of public opinion concerning the emissions of ICE models in South Korea, EU-EFTA-UK, North America and China, those year markers could move to the early ’30s.
We’ve already seen a few models which use Hyundai Motor Group’s new E-GMP, a dedicated architecture for electric models, and there will be a fair few more arriving relatively soon. This report looks at what they are likely to be, plus we shouldn’t also forget that petrol-powered models will still be launched throughout much of the 2020s.
MPVs
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By GlobalDataKia may revive the Carens or Rondo names for Project KY, a five, six and seven-seat 4.4-4.6 m long MPV which it is planning to reveal on 16 December. The Seltos-based model will mainly be for the Indian market but as yet it isn’t clear if it will be manufactured or assembled there. Both petrol and diesel engines should feature, each one said to be a 1.5-litre unit.
The brand’s other main MPV is far larger, that being the KA4 series Carnival. In South Korea, which was the first and remains one of the larger markets, seven, nine or eleven seat variants are offered. All are 5,155 mm long. The launch took place last year.
Number 1 plant in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, is the main manufacturing base but there is also build in China: one of DYK’s Yancheng factories in Jiangsu province switched over to the new model in July.
As Kia’s Penukonda plant only restarted CKD assembly of the YP shape Carnival late in the second quarter of 2020, the Indian factory likely won’t gain KA4 until perhaps the second half of 2022.
Hybrid and electric versions are rumoured to be coming, their arrival expected to coincide with a mid-life facelift in the second half of 2023. The successor is due in 2026.
Cars
An eventual replacement for the Soul EV should be called either EV4 or EV5. Such a model should be launched in 2022 although it may not appear until 2023.
As for the ICE-powered Soul, the current model has only been in production for three years and should have a facelift in 2022. All build takes place in South Korea at Gwanju No.2 plant. Curiously, Kia no longer sells the car in South Korea, this having ceased during the first half of 2021. Production for the USA, the main market, will likely continue until 2025.
Images of the interior and exterior of the EV6 were made public in March, four months before production started at Kia Corporation’s Sohari factory. Sales commenced in South Korea, the first market, during August.
Kia’s European division notes that cars for its region are either 4,680 mm (EV6) or 4,695 mm (EV6 GT-line, EV6 GT) long. Width also varies: 1,880 mm for the base car and 1,890 mm for the GT-line and GT. All have the same 2,900 mm wheelbase and 520 litres of luggage capacity in the rear boot and up to 1,300 with the seats folded. And with the exception of RWD cars for the European market, which offer 52 litres, all others have just 20 litres of space in the front compartment.
This electric hatchback, which has 400 V and 800 V charging capability, is the first Kia to use Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
The five variants’ specifications announced in March are as follows:
- EV6 & EV6 GT-line – Standard Range, 58.0 kWh battery, 125 kW & 350 Nm from a single motor, RWD
- EV6 & EV6 GT-line – Standard Range, 58.0 kWh battery, 173 kW & 605 Nm combined from two motors, AWD
- EV6 & EV6 GT-line – Long Range, 77.4 kWh battery, 168 kW & 350 Nm from a single motor, RWD
- EV6 & EV6 GT-line – Long Range, 77.4 kWh battery, 239 kW & 605 Nm combined from two motors, AWD
- EV6 GT – Long Range, 77.4 kWh battery, 430 kW & 740 Nm combined from two motors, AWD
The GT has a top speed of 260 km/h and reaches 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. This and all other variants can go from 10 to 80 per cent battery charge in 18 minutes when hooked up to an 800 V cable. That also means a charge of 100 km WLTP takes just four and a half minutes.
We can expect a facelift in 2025 and a replacement in 2028.
SUVs
SG2, the next Niro, is due in mid-2022. It will probably look a lot like the HabaNiro, a 4,430 mm long concept which debuted at the New York auto show in April 2019. The existing HUV, PHEV and EV variants should each have a successor.
MV is the internal code for the EV7 or EV8. This will be Kia’s equivalent to the Hyundai Ioniq 7: an electric crossover which is larger than the EV6. Production will be at Sohari on the same line as the EV6. Series production is due to commence in the second quarter of 2023. The architecture is E-GMP.
The brand’s largest SUV for North America will soon be three years old, and that means a facelift in the second half of 2022. The Telluride, which is built in the USA, has just been given Kia’s updated badge and a new grille for the 2022 model year. There will be a more substantial refresh for MY23. The successor is due in CY2026.
Kia will offer the Telluride alongside the future EV9 for some years, the XL-sized electric SUV being due for launch in certain countries from 2024 (see image above). The 4.93 m long concept on display at the LA auto show is a pure design study but it should give a strong indication of the production model’s outline.
The fate of one other SUV was finally sealed earlier in 2021, that model being the Mohave, which would have turned 14 had it stuck around until December. There were multiple facelifts and proposals for a successor but despite having been a good money-spinner in South Korea, Russia and the Middle East, this body-on-frame 4×4 was not replaced.
Reports for many other manufacturers’ future models are grouped in the OEM product strategy summaries section of Just Auto.
Future platform intelligence
More detail on past, current and forthcoming models can be found in PLDB, the future vehicles database which is part of GlobalData’s Automotive Intelligence Center. That includes Kia vehicles not covered in this report.
This was third of three features which looked at selected current and future models from Hyundai Motor Group’s passenger vehicle brands, the first two chapters having concerned Hyundai and Genesis.
Great Wall Motor is to be the subject of the next several features.
