The South Korean automaker, Kia Motor India has committed an investment of Rs 2,000 crore for Research and Development (R&D), infrastructure development, and manufacturing setup for EVs in the country. This investment will bring two new electric vehicles to India by 2025. Both of these EVs include an MPV and a compact SUV which will be manufactured locally here. However, there are no plans to localise the EV6; it will continue to be imported in the present and the future.
Kia All-New Electric MPV and Compact SUV
As per media reports, the all-new MPV will be specifically developed for India. It will be launched most probably by the year 2025. In a recent statement available on the net Tae Jin Park, Managing Director Kia Motor India said that the company has a focal point on the MPV segment. He also attributed that RV customers have no option in India and this is why Kia has models like the Carnival and Carens. Measuring the growth potential, he further adds that the company will grow together with SUVs as well, probably not fast but it will surely be a big market.
Another model in the upcoming Kia EV model lineup is said to be a new compact SUV. Internally, the SUV is known as the Kia AY which is also slated to hit the Indian market by 2025. The upcoming electric AY SUV is likely to be a sub-4 metre vehicle that will sit between the Sonet and Seltos in Kia's product portfolio. But, in order to differentiate it from the Sonet, the company will position the upcoming EV SUV as a lifestyle vehicle with a taller, boxier design, and tougher SUV-ish look. Note that the upcoming Kia AY will not be a solely electric vehicle but will have an ICE option as well.
According to reports, Kia India aims to generate 1 lakh units of the upcoming AY annually with 80 percent volumes from the petrol version while the remaining 20 percent will be coming from the electric ones. Some of the units are believed to be reserved for exports as well.
Kia plan for EV production in India
On producing the new range of EVs, Park had mentioned “Our plant in Anantapur is very flexible; from day one we could produce electric vehicles there, so we will continue to rely on production optimisation to get more capacity out of the existing factory. If we need more capacity, we have some extra land at Anantapur, so that’s no problem to secure additional capacity from the existing set-up.”
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