At an exclusive brand summit in Germany, Kia is unveiling the EV9 in Europe, providing an update on the brand’s bold corporate strategy and showcasing the latest innovations that will help the brand transform mobility in Europe , which will contribute to a better future for all.
These announcements build on the company’s successful ‘Plan S’ strategy, wherein the brand aspires to be a sustainable mobility solutions provider supported by three key pillars: ‘People’, ‘Planet’ and ‘Profit’. Under these pillars, Kia strives to increase customer value by taking a customer-centric approach to business, reduce carbon emissions by using more sustainable materials, and generate revenue while acting as a responsible corporate citizen.
Following the award-winning success of the EV6, Kia is reinforcing its commitment to electrification in Europe with the EV9, which sets the standard. The growing range of electric vehicles that Kia will launch through 2027 is vital for Kia to retain Europe as the brand’s number one EV market EV9 launched in Europe after Kia set a sales record in the first quarter , of which 34.9% were electric. Vehicle. ,
“At the moment, Kia is the brand summit seen in Europe not only with revolutionary electric vehicles, but also with innovative connected services, which enhance the customer experience and pave the way for more sustainable mobility solutions.” said Jason Jeong, president of Kia Europe.
Globally, Kia plans to increase the share of EV sales to 55 percent (2.38 million units) of total sales by 2030 and become a leading EV brand. This is fueled by Kia’s €22 billion investment over the next five years, with 45 percent dedicated to futuristic business areas such as robotics, electrification and autonomous driving.
An electrifying moment in Europe
Kia’s position in Europe has never been stronger. The company sold 542,423 vehicles in Europe last year, a 7.9% increase from 2021. Electric vehicles accounted for 34.9% of sales. Europe will continue to play a key role in Kia’s journey to become a sustainable mobility solutions provider, with the company targeting 28.5% growth in electric vehicles in Europe over the next seven years.
Built on a dedicated EV platform, the EV9 is packed with unprecedented technology, design and features for an electric SUV of this size and stature. It will come with Level 3 autonomous driving capability with ‘Automode’ and ‘Hands-free’ highway driving pilot feature, which will be initially available in Germany and shows what the future holds for Europe. ‘Automode’ is Kia’s driver assistance system that can be updated via over-the-air updates. Kia plans to introduce Highway Driving Pilot 2 by 2026 that will support “blind” driving under certain conditions with the eventual intention of enabling fully autonomous driving in the future.
The EV9 isn’t just a technological marvel and a new benchmark for electric SUVs; It is a leather-free vehicle and includes increased use of sustainable and recyclable materials. It is also the first Kia vehicle to offer updates through the Kia Connect store.
The launch of the EV9 follows a year of awards and recognition for the EV6 and the Kia brand. The EV6 won the ‘Car of the Year’ award, Europe’s most prestigious car award, as well as the What Car? Won the ‘Car of the Year’ award. Awards, won a category at the Trophée de Largus and received Red Dot Design’s “Best of the Best” award for its cutting-edge design. The EV6 was also awarded “Car of the Year” in Ireland and Romania and won the “Premium” category of the German Car of the Year awards. Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, which was recently showcased at Milan Design Week, was well received, resulting in the brand winning several iF Design Awards last year. In addition, Kia received the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ award at the TopGear.com Awards.
Driving Kia’s vision for sustainable mobility is the company’s ‘Plan S’ strategy. This means accelerating electrification and becoming one of the world’s leading manufacturers of electric vehicles to achieve global annual sales of 1.6 million battery electric vehicles by 2030. It also means expanding the application of connected car features and autonomous driving technologies to all new vehicles to make them future-ready like the EV9. In Europe, Kia plans to produce small and medium-sized electric vehicles locally from 2025 at its factory in Slovakia, as they are the main drivers of sales in the region.
Underpinning this growth in electric vehicles is an ever-expanding European charging network, giving customers access to more than half a million charging points in 28 countries, thanks to partnerships with Ionity and Digital Charging Solutions. Last year, ionity achieved the milestone of 430 charging parks with 1,900 charging points. Additionally, another 56 are currently under construction and the number of Ionity locations is expected to increase to over 1,000 by 2025 with 7,000 charging points. DCS, on the other hand, offers over 500,000 charging points in Europe, making it the largest charging network in the region.
Kia also thinks about helping create a better future beyond vehicles. The advanced connectivity of the EV9 could help strengthen Europe’s energy industry with vehicle-to-grid technology. This allows vehicles such as the EV9 to store energy from renewable sources and feed it back into the grid, meaning the EV9’s battery could potentially become a storage method to accelerate and expand the use of green energy. Can
In Germany, Kia Europe has partnered with start-up Encore. Deutsche Bahn’s DB will create a second-life battery energy storage system from used EV batteries discarded from Kia vehicles. The first joint pilot project was successfully developed and presented in Berlin in August 2022. Most of the Kia batteries are ready for second life. With these batteries, the start-up, which has successfully completed its pilot phase, has started offering ready-to-use Second Life battery energy storage systems to customers.
In the Netherlands, Kia is working with the Dutch government on the Safety Priority Services project, designed to provide road users with more and better car safety warnings via the vehicle’s dashboard or system navigation. The project aims to improve mobility and safety for all road users and has the potential to provide important learnings that can be implemented in other countries.
A sustainable and connected future with room for unique driving experiences
To lead the future mobility market and develop sustainable products, Kia has identified connectivity services, autonomous driving technology, performance and design as its four core product attributes.
There is an emphasis on sustainability with 34 kg of eco-friendly materials applied to various parts of the EV9. Kia plans to increase the share of recycled plastic applications in new vehicles to 20 percent by 2030, and is supporting The Ocean Cleanup, a global environmental nonprofit, to collect plastic waste from the ocean. It will be reused as vehicle accessories in 2024 and vehicle parts in 2026.
Kia will continue to reduce carbon emissions by 2045 to achieve net zero at all stages of the value chain, including supply, production, logistics and disposal, as well as at the customer use stage of vehicles. The company is also innovating to improve. Battery. density, for faster charge times, greater range and less weight, while aiming to reduce overall battery costs by 25 percent by 2026 compared to prices in 2018.
Connectivity is an integral part of Kia’s transition to Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) development. The goal is to develop software that has unified control over various systems and hardware, to speed up the vehicle development process, reduce associated costs, and enable personalized vehicle services. SDV will be supported by the Connected Car Data Cloud from 2025. This includes access to data-driven services and over-the-air updates that will allow customers to update their vehicles as per their individual preferences.
As key elements of product competitiveness, Kia plans to focus its capabilities on driving experience and differentiated design. Continuing the sporty image of the brand after the EV6 GT, the high-performance GT trim for the EV9 is just around the corner. In terms of design, Kia will continue to implement user-friendly design based on the “Opposites United” philosophy.
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Hence, Kia launched the EV9 at ‘The Kia Brand Summit’ exhibition in Europe, where it showcased innovations in mobility, charging and connectivity.
