As car makers debate whether to create bespoke architectures for EVs or offer ‘multi-energy’ ones that allow for different powertrains to be offered in the same model, one brand has both bases covered.
Kia has both the EV6 electric crossover (order one now and you will be waiting until early 2024, as you will be at the back of a 7500-plus queue) as the first model in a new range of bespoke EVs on a dedicated architecture; and the Niro, a crossover that can bought as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or an EV.
(Note that sister brand Hyundai has the same offering with the multi-energy Kona and bespoke Ioniq EVs, but it’s Kia we will focus on here.)
“It gives options for customers as to where they are on their transition from combustion engine to fully EV,” said Kia UK boss Paul Philpott. “You've got the options, and you can consider then what's right for you for the next x years.
"I'm delighted to have both [multi-energy and dedicated EV] right now, because I think there's a proportion of customers who aren't ready [to go fully electric] in their heads, and it's a hard decision to move from the petrol or diesel immediately into EVs. To have options is a real strength of ours.
"But equally there are lots of people who are absolutely ready to go for their first EV and will jump from their petrol car to an EV, [so we have] bespoke EVs on bespoke platforms. Clearly, those sorts of people want the best EV out there, and I think with cars like the like the EV6 and EV9 [due next year], we will have that in spades. But we also then offer products with the choice."
The Niro model line itself allows for a fascinating insight into how buying habits are changing and how the shift to fully electric is happening. It has now been on sale across two generations, the current car having replaced the original in the summer.
The Niro is now Kia’s second biggest-selling model behind the Sportage, and the pair make up 55% of all Kia sales. Kia is a brand on the up and up in the UK; it's set to top 100,000 sales for the first time in 2022, a hugely significant milestone that puts it in the top tier of manufacturers selling here.
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