Kia has confirmed that it's going to make an electric car that will be smaller than the compact EV2 which is being introduced to Ireland next week (read our review of the Kia EV2 here).
The new model, expected to be called the EV1, has been confirmed by Kia at its 'CEO Investor's Day' at which it laid out its future plans.
Those include "the company's first SDV B segment hatchback.” SDV is short for Software Defined Vehicle, which means that the EV1 will be created as a car that can be constantly improved and tweaked as it ages, thanks to regular software updates. It's likely to use a shortened version of the EV2's chassis and should have a range of between 300- and 500km.
What else does Kia have planned?
Kia says that by 2030, it wants to have some 14 electric models on sale, up from 11 today, so with the EV1 being one of those, that leaves two other slots.
One of those will be a new C-segment EV to sit alongside the EV5. This is going to be a "flagship volume EV model” according to Kia, so expect it to be pricier - and perhaps a bit sportier - than the EV5. It won't arrive in Ireland until 2029 though.
In the EV space, Kia's also going to expand its 'PBV' electric commercial vehicle offerings beyond the PV5 (we're reviewed that already, too).
If all these plans come to fruition, Kia aims to be selling 750,000 cars in Europe by 2030, with 66 per cent of those being electric models.
That leaves 34 per cent...
Kia also said that it's going to remain flexible in the face of uneven demand for electric cars. The company's president, Ho Sung Song, said: "Even amid the evolving global environment, Kia will proactively respond to changing market conditions through differentiated strategies.”
That means new models using internal combustion engines are also planned - with nine new models expected to be launched by 2030, although not all of those will come to Europe. Neither will they be combustion-only - Kia plans to expand its global hybrid car sales to more than 1.1 million cars by 2030.
One thing we do know is coming down the tracks is a new 'body-on-frame' pickup truck (which will presumably be related to the incoming Hyundai Boulder, seen in concept form at the New York motor show last week). That will come in both hybrid and range-extender forms, but we do not know if it will come to Europe.
Anything else we should know?
To help its electric vehicle ambitions, Kia is developing a replacement for the current 'E-GMP' platform (hardly being left behind by rivals at this point) said to offer a 40 per cent improvement in battery capacity and which will offer a higher level of assisted driving on motorways and main roads.
The platform will use Kia's latest battery designs, which are said to have 15 per cent higher energy density, so it's likely that the next-generation EV6, for instance, will have a one-charge range of around 700km.
The company is also planning to add an interesting new optional extra to its upcoming PV7 and PV9 electric vans - deployable robots for 'last-mile' delivery solutions, leaning on the expertise that Kia has developed in robots, working with Hyundai and Boston Dynamics.