Kia, who has seen you and who sees you. If a couple of decades ago we were told that the South Korean firm was going to be a leader in electrification, we would have laughed out loud. With everything, with a good strategy and the necessary investment has shown that you can get where you want. The proof is that they have overcome rivals as tough and reliable as the Volkswagen Group or the almighty Toyota. Still, they believe this has only just begun...
Does the PBV vehicle segment ring a bell? not us but Kia wants to be a leader. And so that you understand their plan, we will tell you what it is and how they will do it. Are "specially designed vehicles" for commercial and recreational purposes. The first example of his strategy is the Kia Niro Plus and according to the official press release published later there will be more. everything to be the «Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider» leader in the world.
The Kia Niro Plus, for now, will be available in South Korea and Australia...
and you will wonder How is the Kia Niro Plus? Well, first tell you that it is a modification of the SUV that they have sold so far. Therefore, they have chosen to differentiate it from the second generation that they have put up for sale a few weeks ago. In any case, the engineering team has introduced changes to make it more habitable. For example, an additional length of 1 centimeter or a ceiling that is 8 centimeters higher than before.
In addition, to offer a greater width, it has slimmer seats and door trims than the original Niro EV. As a complement, and to facilitate access to the interior, it offers grab handles on the "B" pillars. In the last place the doors have reflectors that help increase security by making this element more visible. The passenger compartment, beyond including an all-in-one screen for the taxi version, will not receive major design changes.
However, Kia has confirmed support for voice control and OTA updates. Thus, the latest advances in navigation, the taximeter application and the digital tachograph will not be missing either. Their goal is sell the SUV with more space as PHEV and EV. In addition, the latter will have a taxi derivative that will be available, initially, in South Korea. Later it will reach other countries, such as Australia.
According to the official press release, Kia wants to be the leader in the PBV segment by 2030. To do this, it will create a dedicated platform on which different vehicles can be developed to cover different needs. The first PBV they develop from scratch will see the light of day in 2025 which is when they think this segment will be more mature. It will have a medium size and inherent "scalability". Will it come to Europe or not?
Source - Kia
