Kia premieres EV3 to boost global electrification push

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, on Thursday premiered the EV3, its low-cost electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), to reboot slowing growth in clean automobiles by offering cheaper eco-friendly models to budget-conscious drivers.

The EV3 built on Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) can travel up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) on a single charge as it is equipped with nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) batteries. Kia's third EV also features artificial intelligence functions.

Kia plans to start selling the EV3 with price tags in the $35,000-$50,000 range in Europe, the world’s second-largest EV market, in the fourth quarter, as well as the US and other markets next year, after South Korea in July.

“The EV3 is expected to lead the EV popularization as it is an electric compact SUV developed to provide Kia’s differentiated marketability to more customers,” said Kia President and CEO Song Ho Sung.

“The EV3 is the first model for the early majority,” Song said, referring to the stage in the diffusion of a new technology that represents the first sizable segment of a population to adopt the innovation.

Kia, an affiliate of the country’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor, hopes the EV3 will bolster sales of electric vehicles, which have been sluggish due to weak demand.

The maker of the EV6 and EV9 aims to sell 200,000 units of the EV3 a year globally including some 30,000 units in South Korea.

MORE AFFORDABLE MODELS FOR RECOVERY

Kia last year announced plans to introduce three cheaper models – the EV3, the EV4 electric sedan and the EV5, its first China-made all-electric SUV.

Global automakers have been rushing to introduce entry-level EVs to revive the eco-friendly automobile industry. Tesla Inc., the world’s second-largest EV manufacturer, reportedly plans to launch the Model 2, a more affordable EV priced at some $25,000, in the near term, industry sources said.

The world’s EV market showed some signs of recovery, Song said.

“Global EV sales rose 13% to 2.12 million units in the first quarter from a year earlier,” he said.

TO COMPETE WITH VOLKSWAGEN ID.3, BYD YUAN UP

The EV3 is expected to compete with the ID.3, Volkswagen AG’s electric small family car, and the Yuan Up, BYD Co.’s electric subcompact crossover SUV, industry sources said.

The EV3 measures 4,300 millimeters (mm) long, 1,850 mm wide, 1,560 mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,680 mm, similar to those of the ID.3 and the Yuan Up.

The South Korean EV has two trims – the Standard model with a 58.3 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery and the Long Range version with an 81.4 kWh battery.

The EV3 Long Range can drive up to 600 km on a single charge based on the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) standard, which determines the range of EVs, Kia said.

That compared with the ID.3’s range of up to 559 km on the WLTP standards and the Yuan Up’s maximum range of 401 km. The ID.3 is sold at 39,995 euros ($43,371) in Germany, while the Yuan Up is priced at as low as 96,800 yuan ($13,624).

It takes about 31 minutes to charge the EV3’s battery by 80% from 10% with a 350 kWh super-fast charger, according to Kia.

The EV3 is Kia’s first EV model to feature its AI assistant technology, which recently debuted on the K4 compact sedan. The technology provides information on travel, vehicle use, entertainment and others based on natural languages.

The compact SUV is also equipped with a 12.3-inch display, which is used for the EV9, its flagship all-electric SUV.

Write to Jung-Eun Shin at newyearis@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.