Kia has revealed a roadmap for its ambitious ‘Plan S’ strategy; to build at least 14 new battery-powered vehicles by the end of the decade, including two new pick-up trucks.
Less than twenty years ago, the Korean automaker was building underwhelming hatchbacks no one was really buying but fast-forward to 2022, that’s all changed.
Kia now has a competitive line-up of credible vehicles covering just about every segment of the market.
Like many brands right now, Kia is prioritising electric vehicles, planning to sell four million units globally by 2030, with at least 50 per cent to be plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) or battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Hydrogen isn’t in the cards, at least for now.
In order to achieve this, they want to introduce two new vehicles every year, starting from 2023, when they will launch the EV9 SUV along with a GT version for the EV6 (which will go 0-60 in 5 seconds).
Aside from the inevitable stream of SUVs and CUVs, Kia plans to start building pick-up trucks as well.
The company has been toying with this idea for a while and believes a “dedicated EV pick-up truck” would be a “strategic model for emerging markets”.
Last but not least, the Korean automaker is also working on a semi-autonomous driving system called ‘AutoMode’, which could be introduced with the EV9 as early as next year.
Kia, whatever you do, please don’t kill the Stinger. We love it too much.
