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Kia has confirmed it will launch an all-new electric crossover late next year, based on the Imagine concept from the 2019 Geneva Motor Show. Internally known as the Kia CV, it will act as a Tesla Model Y rivalling halo model, introducing the brand’s next-generation charging technology and all-new platform made specifically for an upcoming family of electric vehicles.
It will be the first production vehicle built on the Hyundai Group’s brand-new E-GMP dedicated electric underpinnings. The crossover will also take advantage of Kia’s recent tie-up with electric expert Rimac to offer “incredible” performance, which will later trickle down to more mainstream models in Kia’s line-up.
New 2021 Kia halo EV: platform and powertrain
Steve Kosowski, of Kia America’s product strategy department, has confirmed that the CV will have a maximum range of “around 300 miles” and offer a “sub-20-minute recharge time.” The crossover’s E-GMP platform will also feature the same 800-volt technology as the Porsche Taycan, and will work with IONITY’s 350kW fast-charging network.
Kia is keeping the rest of the E-GMP platform’s technical details and performance specifications a secret for the time being. However, we do know that the platform is scalable and has been designed to cover several segment and body styles. It will feature under the upcoming production version of the Hyundai 45 concept, too.
Kia Geneva Concept interior
Imagine by Kia concept - dash
image
Imagine by Kia concept - rear above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva rear
Kia Geneva Concept front
Imagine by Kia concept - front above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full front
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full rear
Kia Geneva Concept front quarter
New 2021 Kia halo EV: Design and positioning
The new car’s styling will take close inspiration from the Imagine by Kia concept, and we’ve previewed this in our exclusive images. The production model should take the form of an unconventional C-segment SUV with a stylised interpretation of the company’s trademark “Tiger Nose” grille and a sharp, fastback-style rear end.
During the launch of the Imagine concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Kia’s chief designer, Luc Donkerwolke, suggested that little would need to change between the show car and the production-ready crossover. He said: “I don’t see anything that’s really not feasible. There are some cost-related issues that have to be validated; but it hasn’t been done by designers who don’t understand how to build a car for production.
“[The Imagine by Kia concept] is not a free exercise. It’s not just a last-minute car for Geneva. It has a purpose. This is more business than show. We are definitely not entertaining here, but actually communicating with our customers.”
However, while it would be a ‘halo’ car, it wouldn’t become Kia’s outright flagship model. The Telluride SUV and K9 limo – two cars we don’t get here – are indicative of a global firm with different requirements for various markets. It will, instead, be the most technologically advanced Kia on sale, but not necessarily the largest or most expensive.
While keen to refer to the car as an “emotional flagship”, Donkerwolke said that some of the Imagine’s design DNA is already seen in two of Kia’s European saloons: the rakish Stinger and more traditional three-box Optima.
Kia Geneva Concept interior
Imagine by Kia concept - dash
image
Imagine by Kia concept - rear above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva rear
Kia Geneva Concept front
Imagine by Kia concept - front above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full front
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full rear
Kia Geneva Concept front quarter
New 2021 Kia halo EV just one of several new Kia EVs planned
Kia has also released some further details on its “Plan S” product strategy, in which the car based on the Imagine by Kia concept will play an integral role. Within the next five years, Kia plans to increase its line-up of battery electric vehicles from two to eleven, while aiming to grow to a 6.6 percent share in the global EV market (excluding China). The company also aims for eco-friendly vehicles to account for 25 percent of its sales within the same period.
Carlos Lahoz, Kia Europe’s marketing director, commented on the product strategy, saying: “It is important to make a statement. Every manufacturer needs a halo car that sets the pace for whatever is coming. We are going to launch 11 [electric cars] by 2025, and this is the first stepping stone to what the new Kia is going to offer to consumers.”
Lahoz admitted that Kia is not a premium brand, however, and that it has no aspirations to become one. “We need to be faithful to our roots,” he said. “We are mainstream. But why do consumers need to pay premium prices to get state of the art technology?”
What do you make of the all-electric Kia CV? Let us know in the comments section below…
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It will be the first production vehicle built on the Hyundai Group’s brand-new E-GMP dedicated electric underpinnings. The crossover will also take advantage of Kia’s recent tie-up with electric expert Rimac to offer “incredible” performance, which will later trickle down to more mainstream models in Kia’s line-up.
New 2021 Kia halo EV: platform and powertrain
Steve Kosowski, of Kia America’s product strategy department, has confirmed that the CV will have a maximum range of “around 300 miles” and offer a “sub-20-minute recharge time.” The crossover’s E-GMP platform will also feature the same 800-volt technology as the Porsche Taycan, and will work with IONITY’s 350kW fast-charging network.
Kia is keeping the rest of the E-GMP platform’s technical details and performance specifications a secret for the time being. However, we do know that the platform is scalable and has been designed to cover several segment and body styles. It will feature under the upcoming production version of the Hyundai 45 concept, too.
Kia Geneva Concept interior
Imagine by Kia concept - dash
image
Imagine by Kia concept - rear above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva rear
Kia Geneva Concept front
Imagine by Kia concept - front above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full front
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full rear
Kia Geneva Concept front quarter
New 2021 Kia halo EV: Design and positioning
The new car’s styling will take close inspiration from the Imagine by Kia concept, and we’ve previewed this in our exclusive images. The production model should take the form of an unconventional C-segment SUV with a stylised interpretation of the company’s trademark “Tiger Nose” grille and a sharp, fastback-style rear end.
During the launch of the Imagine concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Kia’s chief designer, Luc Donkerwolke, suggested that little would need to change between the show car and the production-ready crossover. He said: “I don’t see anything that’s really not feasible. There are some cost-related issues that have to be validated; but it hasn’t been done by designers who don’t understand how to build a car for production.
“[The Imagine by Kia concept] is not a free exercise. It’s not just a last-minute car for Geneva. It has a purpose. This is more business than show. We are definitely not entertaining here, but actually communicating with our customers.”
However, while it would be a ‘halo’ car, it wouldn’t become Kia’s outright flagship model. The Telluride SUV and K9 limo – two cars we don’t get here – are indicative of a global firm with different requirements for various markets. It will, instead, be the most technologically advanced Kia on sale, but not necessarily the largest or most expensive.
While keen to refer to the car as an “emotional flagship”, Donkerwolke said that some of the Imagine’s design DNA is already seen in two of Kia’s European saloons: the rakish Stinger and more traditional three-box Optima.
Kia Geneva Concept interior
Imagine by Kia concept - dash
image
Imagine by Kia concept - rear above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva rear
Kia Geneva Concept front
Imagine by Kia concept - front above
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full front
Imagine by Kia - Geneva full rear
Kia Geneva Concept front quarter
New 2021 Kia halo EV just one of several new Kia EVs planned
Kia has also released some further details on its “Plan S” product strategy, in which the car based on the Imagine by Kia concept will play an integral role. Within the next five years, Kia plans to increase its line-up of battery electric vehicles from two to eleven, while aiming to grow to a 6.6 percent share in the global EV market (excluding China). The company also aims for eco-friendly vehicles to account for 25 percent of its sales within the same period.
Carlos Lahoz, Kia Europe’s marketing director, commented on the product strategy, saying: “It is important to make a statement. Every manufacturer needs a halo car that sets the pace for whatever is coming. We are going to launch 11 [electric cars] by 2025, and this is the first stepping stone to what the new Kia is going to offer to consumers.”
Lahoz admitted that Kia is not a premium brand, however, and that it has no aspirations to become one. “We need to be faithful to our roots,” he said. “We are mainstream. But why do consumers need to pay premium prices to get state of the art technology?”
What do you make of the all-electric Kia CV? Let us know in the comments section below…
Continue reading...