Kia Motors, Kakao Mobility team up to stimulate EV migration in car-hailing

[Photo provided by Kia Motors Corp.]

South Korea¡¯s Kia Motors and Kakao Mobility have joined hands to accelerate EV migration in the car-hailing segment.

Under their memorandum of understanding signed on Tuesday, they aim to marry Kia¡¯s EV technology and related infrastructure and Kakao¡¯s mobility platform to meet the goal.

To ensure fast distribution and adoption of electric vehicles in the taxi industry, the two companies plan to do away with any inconvenience and burden taxi operators feel in the entire process of selecting, purchasing, using, and charging electric taxis.

Kia Motors will play its part in EV s and related technology, charging infrastructure, battery and vehicle warranty, and maintenance support, while Kakao Mobility will be in charge of providing its platform-based infrastructure and necessary solutions. Kia Motors and Kakao Mobility plan to ultimately contribute to the easy adoption of EVs by exploring various ways to build the EV industry ecosystem, starting with providing customized solutions for electric taxis to benefit taxi operators.

In the long term, the two will make joint efforts to reflect various ideas from the taxi industry from the planning stage of an electric purpose-built vehicle (PBV) model. They also agreed to promote the growth of the local EV market and innovation in the mobility industry.

[¨Ï Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]