Kia drops 'Motors' as EV push targets fresh crop of buyers

TOKYO — Kia has a new company name, new logo and new slogan — all to help herald its new ambition of becoming a global leader in electric vehicles with annual sales of 500,000 EVs by 2026.

CEO Ho Sung Song says the time is right for the big shift — even in the U.S., the brand's biggest market. Despite paltry American demand for EVs today, Song says a wave of new high-tech product imbued with a new design language will help Kia reach a new customer base.

The brand reboot will begin this quarter with the introduction of Kia's first dedicated EV. The new logo will be rolled out across the entire lineup through early 2022. Kia plans to give dealerships worldwide two or three years to adopt the emblem, he said.

"We are facing one of the biggest transformations the industry has ever had," Song told Automotive News last week in starting the relaunch. "And we want to leverage this opportunity to transform ourselves in the area of brand customer experience and business model.

"This is totally approaching a different target group or a different customer, and different messaging, different approach and even the manufacturing of the vehicles," he said.

Among the first changes, Kia is dropping "Motors" from its corporate name to emphasize its drive into the fields of electric cars and new mobility. Kia Motors Corp. now will be simply Kia Corp.

Kia also last week previewed an upcoming wave of nine electric vehicles that will fuel the push. They are part of Kia's mass ramp-up of EVs through 2025, and a rapid expansion into what the company calls purpose-built vehicles, or PBVs — referring to runabouts dedicated to functions such as people moving and delivery.

Artur Martins, head of global customer experience, said the biggest challenge for Kia will be ensuring a consistent rollout of the new brand image and lineup worldwide, while accounting for different needs and tastes in different markets, such as the readiness to go electric.

Kia's shift will hopefully inspire customers to buy more high-trim models, he said.

In an online brand showcase, global design chief Karim Habib teased silhouettes of EV mockups, half-hidden in colored mood lighting and shadow, that concealed "a powerful and dynamic crossover, a fun and practical commuter, a strong and bold SUV," as well as a "long and elegant sedan," and something hinting at a sports car that the designer called "an agile and dynamic machine."

The models will be called EV1 through EV9, Habib said.

He also previewed PBVs. Those products will include a "micro autonomous pod," a small individual urban transporter, a midsize commuter, and something billed as a "large logistic companion."

The silhouette of the latter looked something like a rolling box.

Habib said Kia will unveil more design details in the coming months.

The new brand ambitions follow the adoption of a new logo and slogan this month.

"Changing our corporate name and logo is not only a cosmetic improvement," said Song, who took the helm last April.

"It represents us expanding our horizons and establishing new and emerging businesses that meet and exceed the diverse needs of our customers worldwide."

Under its midterm business plan, Kia wants to build an EV lineup of 11 models by 2025, with seven EV-only products by 2027.

Kia hopes to grab 6.6 percent of the global battery-electric vehicle market by 2025 and rack up global annual sales of 500,000 EVs by 2026.

Kia wants EVs to generate 20 percent of its worldwide sales by 2025 and a quarter in 2029.

Kia also wants to become a leader in PBVs. These will be specialized vehicles based on flexible "skateboard" platforms with modular bodies, Kia said. They will cater to corporate and fleet buyers, and Kia plans to leverage its tie-ups with mobility players such as Canoo and Arrival.

Kia expects demand for PBVs to soar fivefold by 2030 due to e-commerce and car-sharing.

Song said the first PBV will debut next year.

Speaking of the U.S. market's lackluster demand for EVs, Song said that could change with the arrival of a new government in Washington under President-elect Joe Biden. That may open the door to the adoption of more environmentally friendly emissions regulations that could spur EV growth.

Song said Kia is prepared to build its EVs and PBVs in any market where demand is strong enough, including the U.S. He declined to comment on a recent media report speculating about a tie-up between Kia parent Hyundai Motor Group and Apple to build an electric car. One report out of South Korea said Kia might build the EV for Apple at Kia's factory in Georgia. Ultimately, Song said, economies of scale will dictate where Kia builds its EVs.

Kia's first dedicated EV will be delivered in the first quarter of this year and be built on a new Electric-Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP, shared with Hyundai. It will be a crossover-inspired design, code-named CV, with a range of more than 310 miles and a high-speed charging time under 20 minutes, Kia said.

Kia's range figures are drawn from the European standard, the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure, which is considered more generous than U.S. range figures set by the EPA.

Habib hinted that the CV will deliver a fresh take on utility vehicles. He said the body of the new EV will have crossover elements, adding: "We haven't seen exactly this shape before."

It will be the first global vehicle bearing Kia's new black-and-white logo. The first U.S.-market vehicle to get the new logo will be the updated Carnival minivan that will replace the Sedona when it arrives in the second quarter, Song said.