Earlier this year, Kia dropped the term “car company” from its corporate name and unveiled a new logo and tagline as part of its so-called Plan S.This is a new strategy that will shift its business away from internal combustion engines and towards electric vehicles, services and autonomous vehicle technology.
The South Korean automaker has begun to reveal more details about the first vehicle it will launch as part of Plan S. Kia on Tuesday released several images of the EV6, its first all-electric battery -electric vehicle built on its new Modular Electric Platform , also known as the E-GMP platform. This platform is shared with Hyundai and is the main foundation of the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 compact crossover.
However, as these are teasers, the entire vehicle is not shown. Of course, several design features are visible and give us a first idea to understand Kia's "design language" regarding the EV6 and its future vehicles.
The EV6 is a four-door crossover, which is no surprise considering the popularity of such vehicles in the U.S. The low front end rises to a coupe-like roofline. The LED headlights have a segmented pattern, and the traditional grille found on internal combustion vehicles is gone.
The company also revealed a new naming scheme to help consumers easily identify the electric vehicles in its lineup. Battery-only electric vehicles will start with the prefix “EV.” A number will follow “EV” to indicate the vehicle’s position in the lineup. That puts the EV6 somewhere in the middle of its upcoming lineup.
Kia said that the EV6 will have its global premiere in the first quarter of 2021.
“Our goal is to design the physical experience of our brand and create bold, original and inventive electric vehicles,” said Karim Habib, senior vice president and head of Kia Global Design Center.
Kia’s strategy is more ambitious than just creating bold, original and inventive electric vehicles. The company said last year that it wanted to be a pioneer in the EV era, a brand that would be loved by all generations and a symbol of challenge and innovation. Kia has set high goals for its product sales. It aims to launch 11 EVs by 2025, giving it a 6.6% share of the global EV market, sell 500,000 electric vehicles annually by 2026 and offer customized, purpose-built electric vehicles.
