Foto: Kia
Kia Corporation is transforming itself into a provider of sustainable mobility solutions and has announced the construction of a high-tech factory for electrically powered purpose-built vehicles (PBVs). The plant, which uses intelligent technologies, will be located on the premises of the Kia plant in Hwasung, Korea. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2023, with commercial production expected to start in the second half of 2025. The plant will have an initial annual capacity of 100,000 units, which can be increased to 150,000 units as the PBV market grows accordingly.
“This pure PBV plant is an important pillar of our ‘Plan S’ strategy as Kia aims to be at the forefront of the global PBV market,” said Ho Sung Song, President and CEO of Kia Corporation. “We will first explore new markets with derivative PBV models and then gradually expand our presence in global markets through dedicated PBV models with autonomous driving technologies.”
When the plant starts operations in the second half of 2025, a medium-sized special vehicle will be produced there. This first pure PBV model from Kia will be based on the brand’s ‘eS’ skateboard platform, which has been specially developed for PBVs. The new platform can serve as a base for special vehicles of various sizes to meet different customer needs. After the launch of the model, codenamed SW, Kia will expand its product range into areas such as micro driverless vehicles, general logistics, fresh food transport, multi-seat shuttle vehicles and large PBVs that can be used as mobile offices or shops. www.kia.com
