new hybrids coming to “address the changing needs of electric vehicles”

Kia is one of the very first manufacturers to make electrification the best to follow. After the Hyundai Ioniq, the Niro SUV is thus the second car from a group with a cousin brand name (Hyundai Motor Group, editor’s note) and of which Kia is another important member, which has been released very quickly after its release. on hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric. The latter, called in its first version e-Niro, was even a real hit with an electric car.

Based on this first successful experience, two Korean manufacturers are thinking of an (almost) 100% electric future and are designing a special platform for this, e-GMP presented in 2020, intended to be the basis of a large number of zero. exhaust cars to come while setting ambitious goals.

Probably a lot. This week, Kia outlined a new roadmap aimed at “fully addressing the uncertainty in the mobility industry environment, including changes in the electric vehicle market.” This is what you need to remember.

A market that is not mature enough

There is no doubt that the electricity race is now well underway around the world, especially in China, Europe and, to a lesser extent, in North America (even if, there, the heat still has good days ahead of it). However, we cannot say that everything is going for the best of all possible worlds. As the US and European elections approach, a fundamental question arises: will the goals set by Joe Biden (50% of new 100% electric cars sold by 2030) and the European Union (100% in 2035) be abandoned?

Despite, as we said, a good increase in registrations, zero-emission cars are still far from being unanimously accepted by buyers. Between the prices that are still very high (although smaller, more accessible models are starting to arrive gradually), the more or less developed charging network depending on the country does not make it possible to balance the efforts made by the manufacturers in terms of autonomy and uncertainty over of political, economic and geographical levels, there are many reasons why buyers still prefer heat engines.

Added to this is the final difficulty for Kia and Hyundai, the fact that major auto markets tend to change themselves and implement protectionist policies. This is the case in the United States and China. As for Europe, it may soon draw a line and follow the example of France, which has reserved the ecological bonus for certain models since December and mainly excludes models produced on the other side of the world. Therefore, no Kia model is eligible for this government supplement (only one from Hyundai, the Kona). A real blow to the new generation Niro that had entered our market.

9 types of hybrids in 2028

It is in response to these various issues that Kia will gradually complete its hybrid. From 6 models in 2024, we will go to 8 in 2026 and even 9 in 2028. The only thing is that it is not specified at the moment which markets will be affected. One feature is stated, most models will offer a hybrid version. Of course, clean electricity will not forget. The range will expand, as we know, downwards with EV2, EV3, EV4 and EV5.

For information, in 2020, during the presentation of the aforementioned e-GMP platform, Kia set itself the goal of selling 1 million electric vehicles in 2025. Two years from the deadline, we are still far from the account. In 2023, the manufacturer will register a total of 576,000 electrified vehicles worldwide. So this includes hybrid or plug-in models… With the target now set for 4.3 million vehicles in 2030, including 2.48 million electric models and 1.6 million zero emissions, the bar has been set low. It is enough to focus on the future more calmly.

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