Reaching the fifth spot in the Indian car manufacturing space in just three years, Kia wishes to get into the mainstream electric vehicle (EV) zone as well. The South Korean corporation is the second-largest automobile manufacturer in the country after its parent company, Hyundai Motor Company. Kia Corporation is set to enter the EV space with its small SUV EV designed for emerging markets outside of India.
According to the sources, the small SUV, codenamed AY, is in the development phase and is assumed to hit the streets by 2025. AY is not going to be a pure EV, and it could be based on a flexible platform that provides Kia with the mass-market petrol SUV space at the entry-level.
While the AY is in the development phase, Seltos and Sonet manufacturers are working out their access into the Indian EV space in 2022 with their globally successful EV6 (Winner of the World Car of the Year, US). They intend to touch the market with the already accessible product and use the next couple of years to develop and introduce the under-development EV catering to both edges of the market.
Kia’s entry will correspond with Maruti Suzuki and Toyota in the electric vehicle space. Tata Motors currently controls nearly 90% of the market, and by the time Kia enters the mainstream EV space, Tata Motors and M&M will have released a dozen models between them.
The CEO of Kia shared the EV roadmap earlier this year, wherein Kia estimated an outright sale of 4 million EVs. 50% of it is to come from electrified power trains, and 30% of it would be pure electric vehicles.
Globally, Kia intends to introduce 14 electric vehicles by 2030. With India being the rapidly thriving market for the brand in 2021, Kia India might beat the global growth, accounting for about 10% of Kia’s global production and approximately 8% of its total revenue. Kia aims to ship close to 80,000 automobiles from India, and presently, Kia is exporting to over 90 countries.