At Kia’s Investor Day 2024, Ho Sung Song, the company’s president and CEO, declared that two new models—including the Carens EV—will be introduced in developing nations like India to satisfy a range of customer needs. In order to strengthen its EV play, he also said that the business plans to introduce its flagship vehicle, the EV9, in India in 2024. “The goal of the EV line-up strategy is to increase consumer accessibility by introducing mass EV models after our flagship EV models,” he stated.
In the second part of 2025, Kia will introduce the Carens EV and Clavis EV
According to sources, the business plans to introduce the Kia Clavis, a mass-market electric SUV with the codename AY-EV, in the second half of 2025. It also intends to introduce the KY-EV, an EV based in Carens, at about the same time. It’s interesting to note that Kia predicts that both EV versions will sell a combined 50,000–60,000 units by 2026. The Kia AY SUV with a gasoline engine is anticipated to hit the roads in the first half of 2025.
Kia plans to sell EVs aggressively
Song went on, “The objective is to sell 5,87,000 mass EV models by 2026, which would represent 66 percent of all EV sales.” Regarding the sales strategy tailored to certain regions, Kia intends to sustain its success in these areas by utilizing Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs) to generate demand and expand its EV lineup. “We will respond to growing demand by diversifying manufacturing bases and enhancing high-quality customer experiences to differentiate the brand in emerging markets,” he said.
A component of Kia’s strategy to reduce its exposure to risk in the event that the market for EVs fails to materialize is the flexible manufacturing line and ICE-derived EVs. “EV demand is expected to continue growing considering the global CO2 reduction regulations and the downward trend of EV prices, even though there may be short-term concerns about a slowdown in demand,” Song stated.
Plans for Kia’s upcoming EV debut
Fifteen EV vehicles in total have been determined to be released by 2027. After the Kia EV3 is released this year, major markets will see the introduction of the EV2, EV4, and EV5 models, for a total of 6 mass-market versions.
“Selling 1.3 million more EVs than in 2024 is necessary to meet the 1.6 million unit sales target by 2030. According to Song, the percentage of EV sales in key markets is expected to increase from 13 percent in 2024 to 52 percent by 2030, with up to 40 percent expected in North America and Europe and up to 79 percent in Korea. However, Song did not provide information on the volumes or share of EVs in the Indian market.
