- Renames the brand as ‘Kia’ from ‘Kia Motor Corporation’

- To unveil the first EV in the first quarter of 2021

Kia revealed its new logo last week and has now elaborated on its new purpose and future strategy. The corporate name 'Kia Motors' has now dropped the word ‘Motors’ and will be only be known as 'Kia' signifying the South-Korean car manufacturer’s expansion to new and emerging business areas.

With the new ‘Plan-S’ initiative, the company will step into diverse fields such as EVs, mobility solutions, purpose-built vehicles and more. Kia will reinforce its global product line-up by introducing seven new dedicated battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2027. These BEVs will be labelled from EV1 to EV7. This portfolio will range from passenger vehicles, SUVs, and MPVs across several segments. The upcoming models will be underpinned by the newly unveiled Hyundai Motor Group’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).

The first BEV will be revealed by Kia in the first quarter of 2021. The upcoming BEV is expected to offer an electric driving range of over 500km and a high-speed charging time of under 20 minutes. It will also be the first model to feature Kia’s new logo. Debuting in the EV market, Kia aims to acquire a 6.6 per cent global share in the market by 2025 and has targeted global annual sales of 5,00,000 BEVs by the year 2026.

Another key territory where Kia will emphasise is in developing a range of new purpose-built vehicles. The relaunched brand will introduce vehicles that are likely to cater the e-commerce and car-sharing services including low-floor vehicles and delivery vans. To achieve the same, Kia has entered into several partnerships and collaborations such as Grab, Ola, and Repsol.

Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Corporation, comments: “At Kia, we believe that transportation, mobility, and movement represent a human right. Our vision is to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies globally. Today we start putting this vision into action with the launch of our new brand purpose and strategy for the future.”