Kia to launch K8 EV next year to meet luxury car demand in EV market

2023. 5. 2. 13:27
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Kia Corp.’s electric vehicle K8 [Photo provided by Kia]
Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest automaker, is preparing to enter the luxury electric sedan market as global automakers increasingly add high-end electric sedans to their lineups.

According to industry sources on Monday, Kia is reportedly developing a new electric sedan similar in size to the K8, a full-sized luxury sedan that was introduced last year. Design work on the vehicle is reportedly in full swing.

Kia has only revealed plans to launch the EV9 for large-sized vehicle, EV5 for mid-sized model for the Chinese market and the new Ray electric vehicle since the release of the EV6, a sport utility vehicle and its first dedicated electric vehicle, in 2021. All of them are SUVs and recreational vehicles (RVs). In the future, the company will expand its electrification lineup to include mid-sized and then large-sized sedans.

Kia plans to build a lineup of 15 EVs by 2027 and will target Europe and India with mid-sized EVs and Korea, China and North America with flagship sedans and SUV, said an auto industry insider.

In terms of Hyundai Motor Group brands, Hyundai Motor Co. has the Ioniq 6, which is a mid-size electric sedan, but not a premium sedan. The Genesis G80 electrified model is derived from an internal combustion engine model.

Kia is preparing to launch a premium electric sedan for the same reason that Tesla and other global automakers are adding electric versions of their flagship sedans to the product list. Automakers are betting that sedans will become just as popular as SUVs, thanks to the inherent quietness and performance improvements of electric vehicles.

Among other automakers, Volkswagen recently unveiled the ID.7, the brand’s first mid-size all-electric sedan, and BMW sells an all-electric version of its luxury flagship 7 Series sedan, the New i7.

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