Kia previews all-electric van and people-mover
New battery-powered van to form basis of Kia’s future robotaxiKia has teased a new family of all-electric vans and people-movers to be produced from the second half of 2025 in an all-new $US758 million ($A1.1 billion) factory in the Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Announcing it plans to make around 150,000 examples of the all-new battery-powered purpose-built vehicles (PBVs), Kia says its new van-based EVs are being developed under the ‘SW’ codename and will be the first Kia vehicles to be based on Hyundai Motor Group’s new ‘eS’ skateboard architecture.
Developed to be both a delivery van, a multi-seat people-mover, a mobile executive office and even a storage space, the small and mid-size electric vans will be developed to become fully autonomous robotaxis.
The aim, says Hyundai Motor Group, is to expand its all-electric model range to include no fewer than 31 Hyundai, Kia and Genesis electric vehicles and make the Korean car-making giant one of the world’s top three global EV manufacturers by 2030.
In its native South Korea, Hyundai Motor says it will invest an incredible $US18 billion ($A27b) to switch the domestic market to all-electric vehicles.
According to Kia, its new electric van factory will be state-of-the-art, employing a new ‘cell-method’ of manufacturing that groups together machines or work stations producing similar products. The technique is claimed to boost efficiency and flexibility by reducing the distance that components need to cover inside the plant.
Sophisticated new computers, meanwhile, will use AI to ‘learn’ how to improve the manufacturing process, while other advanced tech will enhance quality, says Kia.
Once open, Kia says the factory will begin to produce well beyond its 150,000 initial annual production cap.
Kia’s new electric vans will follow the award-winning Kia EV6 medium SUV, the upcoming EV9 large SUV and the smaller EV5 electric SUV, in addition to its combustion-powered line-up.
Related: All-new Kia EV9 here by October
Related: Kia Concept EV5 previews all-electric Sportage alternative
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