Kia Motors has announced that an all-electric version of the Kia Soul will go on sale across the world in 2014.
‘Kia Soul EV’ will be Kia’s first all-electric, zero-emissions vehicle marketed outside of Korea. The car will be sold in both North America and Europe.
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“The new Soul EV will be at the forefront of Kia’s ‘Clean Mobility’ program, which aims to provide environmentally-friendly vehicles to our customers around the world, when it goes on sale globally next year,” said Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia Motors Corporation.
“Although it is Kia’s first globally sold all-electric vehicle, the Soul EV is our second-generation battery electric vehicle and significantly benefits from the in-depth knowledge gained during development of the Ray EV sold in Korea.”
The Soul EV is based on the recently-launched second-generation Kia Soul. With a target range of more than 200km/120 miles, the car is described by Kia as a ‘uniquely designed battery electric vehicle is practical for everyday use and perfectly suited for city commuters’.
Speaking to just-auto in Seoul, Mr Chee No Park, Team Leader for the battery engines and design team, said that the 200km range estimate was based on typical driving patterns. He also said that Kia has yet to finalise how the car will be sold and marketed. “We may go direct to customers,” he said. “But we are evaluating all operations including the possibility of leasing the battery.”
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By GlobalDataThe Soul EV will equipped with a high-capacity 27 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack.
Kia says that the Soul EV’s battery will be chargeable from ‘empty’ in around five hours using a standard 240v outlet, or 25 minutes on ‘fast’ charge with 100 kW output.
The front-wheel drive Soul EV prototype test cars currently under development are built on modified versions of the 2014 Kia Soul and are powered by a 109-hp electric motor. Kia says the car will accelerate from 0-62 mph in less than 12 seconds with a top speed in the region of 90 mph.
For the benefit of pedestrian safety, the Soul EV will be equipped with a Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS) that emits an audio alert at speeds below 12 mph and whenever the car is in reverse.
Mr Chee No Park said that improvements to lithium-ion battery performance would continue in the future, but stressed that they will most likely be incremental improvements without a big step up. “It will be an evolutionary development, not revolutionary,” he said.
He also said that Kia sees electrification as about being able to offer appropriate electrified products for different market segments and customer needs. “Battery electric vehicles will grow,” he said. “But we will offer a full range of electrified technologies and we believe that hybrids and plug-in hybrids will also have an important role to play. And fuel cell vehicles will be made available – in small numbers – from 2015.”
In Korea, the Kia Ray EV has been on sale to select public sector customers as a test bed for electric vehicle technology and use. The Ray EV is manufactured alongside conventional engined Ray and Soul at the Gwangju plant in South Korea. The Soul EV will also be made at Gwangju from mid-2014.
