On Friday, South Korea’s second largest car manufacturer, Kia Corp., revealed the design of their all-electric EV5 SUV. Kia plans to produce the model at their plant in China.
The EV5 was unveiled during the media day of the 2023 Chengdu International Automobile Industry exhibition, which is open to the public Saturday.
Kia is hoping to increase their sales in the world’s biggest automobile market by releasing the EV5 and other EV models. The details of the EV5 will be revealed at the Kia EV Day in October.
This new model has been designed with Kia’s new philosophy, “Opposites United,” which focuses on electrification. The EV5 is built on Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated EV platform called E-GMP. It is Kia’s third model with the E-GMP platform, following the EV6 launched in 2021 and the EV9 launched in June of this year.
Kia has eight plants in South Korea and six overseas, with an overall annual capacity of 3.84 million units. In China, Kia has been struggling with low sales due to a lack of EV models and the continuing effects of a diplomatic conflict between Seoul and Beijing in 2017.
Kia plans to launch six EVs in China by 2027 in order to make a presence in the Chinese EV market. The EV5 and EV6 will be released this year, and the EV9 flagship SUV will be released next year.
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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