At the very least one new Kia EV mannequin will probably be revealed at subsequent week’s LA Auto Present. Kia is teasing the brand new EV forward of the occasion, claiming it needs to make “it very clear” that the corporate is charging forward within the US.
After shattering its October US gross sales document final month, Kia mentioned new fashions are “producing vital foot visitors” into showrooms.
The corporate expects the momentum to proceed with a slate of latest fashions debuting subsequent week on the 2024 LA Auto Present. Kia will unveil 5 new automobiles throughout ICE, HEV, PHEV, and EV powertrains.
Kia’s new fashions will characteristic its newest design theme, proven in its next-gen EV fashions just like the three-row EV9 and compact EV3 electrical SUVs.
“With 5 automobiles to unveil at subsequent week’s Los Angeles Auto Present, we wish it to be made very clear that Kia is driving ahead on all fronts,” Kia America’s EVP and COO, Steven Heart, mentioned Thursday.
Heart mentioned Kia will pull the sheets of a few of its most essential fashions but and believes “our clients will probably be delighted at what’s coming to our showrooms within the very close to future.”
Which EV mannequin is Kia teasing for its large US debut?
So, what EV will Kia debut for the US market? It can probably be the smaller EV3 electrical SUV. Kia launched the EV3 in Korea this summer time, beginning at round $30,000 (KRW 42.08 million). Earlier this week, Kia mentioned the compact electrical SUV is now out there in Europe with a “segment-leading” vary of as much as 375 miles.
In Europe, the EV3 begins at round 36,000 euros ($38,000), whereas UK costs (the place it’s been on sale since August) begin at £32,995 ($42,000).
Kia’s vice chairman, Jeong Gained-Jeong, is already calling the smaller electrical SUV a “sport changer” in Korea, with robust demand for the low-cost EV mannequin.
Will it have the identical influence within the US? At 4,300 mm lengthy, 1,850 mm vast, and 1,560 mm tall, the EV3 is in regards to the measurement of the Chevy Bolt EUV (4,306 mm size x 1,770 mm width x 1,616 mm x peak).
The Bolt was GM’s top-selling EV over the previous few years till the corporate ended manufacturing on the finish of 2023.
GM introduced it bought its 300,000th EV within the US final month since 2016. Over 212,000 of them had been Bolt EV fashions. In line with GM’s president, Mark Reuss, a brand new mannequin is due out subsequent 12 months as a part of the “household of Bolts.”
The 2024 Chevy Bolt EUV began at $27,800. Can Kia match (or undercut) the worth? Kia is anticipated to construct the EV3 in Mexico to make the most of the US EV tax credit score. With costs anticipated to begin between $30,000 and $40,000, the tax credit score may decrease the worth tag to round $22,500 and $32,500.
A US-spec Kia EV3 was noticed in California earlier this 12 months testing on public streets, and its debut is anticipated quickly.
Subsequent 12 months, Kia will launch the EV4, its model of an entry-level electrical sedan. The corporate guarantees it will likely be an “completely new kind of EV sedan.”
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