Following its logo change, Kia Motors has made big announcements regarding the brand’s vision and new identity. Going ahead, the brand’s operations will be built around a strategy called ‘Plan S’ and a sustainable mobility movement with the slogan, ‘Movement that inspires’.
As a part of the new changes, Kia motors has changed their corporate name to ‘Kia’. The main reason for removal of ‘Motors’ from the name is because Kia now wants to expand into non-motorised (essentially renewable/electric energy) vehicles as well, outlined by Ho Sung Song, president and CEO, Kia.
Kia’s ‘Plan S’ philosophy, first announced in 2020, now includes the company’s plans for the new logo, slogan and name change, in line with its plans towards sustainable mobility. Further, Kia says the manufacturing process itself will become more sustainable, which the brand plans to achieve by using only clean energy in their plants, as well as using recycled and recyclable materials.
The most important part of Plan S is Kia’s focus on Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), with seven BEVs slated for production by 2027. These new BEVs will be across various segments including MPVs, hatchbacks and SUVs, with the platforms broadly based upon Hyundai’s Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP).
Further, with the expected increase in demand for Purpose-Built Vehicles (PBV) by 2030, Kia also plans to make a ‘skateboard’ platform that will allow different types of body styles to be fitted to it according to the various industry-specific needs.
Kia’s new slogan emphasises on the brand’s 75-year evolution from bicycles to mass market cars, and now onto its future plans for sustainable mobility as well.
Kia will be unveiling the first of its new BEVs in this quarter. Along with being the first offering to bear Kia’s new logo and design philosophy, it will be based on the aforementioned E-GMP platform, and will boast a claimed range of more than 500km with a high-speed charging time of less than 20 minutes. These are all the details available thus far, with the brand saying all further insights on their design philosophy will be disclosed during the unveiling itself.
With the future set to be all about electrification and sustainability, Kia’s new approach and strategy is a need of the hour. Of course, many car manufacturers have already embarked on this journey and are making good progress. However, it is good to see more mass-market companies making this shift as a commitment to the future.
Stay tuned for Kia’s first new-gen BEV which will be revealed before March 31.