Kia announced an update to its Plan S mid- to long-term roadmap at the company’s 2021 CEO Investor Day event. The new strategy features a renewed emphasis on the transition from ICE vehicles to electrified models.

“Kia is being reborn in 2021 with a new logo, new design, and new corporate name,” said CEO Ho Sung Song.

Kia says that by 2030, EVs, PHEVs and hybrids will make up 40 percent of all sales, with an annual sales target of 1.6 million units. As part of this, Kia aims to grow EV sales to 880,000 units in 2030.

The company plans to launch its first “dedicated” EV (that is, not a conversion of a gas vehicle) later this year, and to expand its EV lineup to 11 new models by 2026—seven of these will be native EVs built on the company’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) architecture, and four will be conversions of existing ICE models.

The first dedicated EV from Kia, codenamed CV, will feature HDA2 (Highway Driving Assist Level 2) technology. Starting in 2023, Kia says its EVs will be equipped with Highway Driving Pilot (HDP), which will enable Level 3 autonomy. Further details and performance specifications for the CV will be revealed next month.

Kia stressed the importance of improving the profitability of its EVs. The company predicts that EV production costs will be continuously improved through economies of scale due to higher volume, and reduction of material costs through R&D investment. Kia hopes to achieve profitability on its EVs equal to that of existing ICE models in 2025.

Source: Kia