Although in the eyes of many people, the presence of Korean cars is not high, but do not underestimate their strength too much.
For example, Kia Motors, which we are going to talk about today, will sell 3,085,771 units globally in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 63%, a new annual global sales record.
In the domestic market, Yueda Kia also showed a steady and positive growth trend, with cumulative domestic and foreign sales of 166,395 units, a year-on-year increase of 312%。
China is the core of Kia's global strategy, and pure electric vehicles are the main focus
Although the majority of Kia's sales are currently in overseas markets, the core of its strategy in 2024 will still be in China, as Kia's global CEO Song Husheng emphasized last year.
Since we want to focus on "in China", it is natural to follow the current development trend of China's auto market, that is, new energy. In this regard, Kia is also accelerating the product layout of new energy.
According to the plan, Kia China will launch at least one pure electric vehicle every year, and by 2027, a total of six EV models will be launched. By 2030, the company aims to sell 180,000 EVs a year, accounting for 40% of EV sales.
Kia's first all-electric vehicle in China, the Kia EV6
Kia currently has two BEVs on sale in China, including the Kia EV6 and the Kia EV5, both of which are based on the e-GMP platform dedicated to electric vehicles, and both are positioned as compact SUVs.
Among them, the Kia EV6 has been launched at the 2023 Chengdu Motor Show and is sold in China through imports, with a guidance of 2828-43.980,000.
As Kia's first electric model under China's electrification transformation strategy, the Kia EV6 has received a good response in overseas markets and has won a number of honors, including "2022 European Car of the Year", "2023 North American Car of the Year", "2023 World Performance Car", etc.
Specifically, the Kia EV6 measures 4,695 x 1,890 x 1,575 (1,570) mm in length, width and height, with a wheelbase of 2,900 mm.
The new model is available in two versions, the GT-Line and the GT, and is available with rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. Among them, the EV6 GT-Line pays more attention to the range, and the official CLTC combined range is 671km and 638km respectively.
The EV6 GT can be understood as a high-performance version of the EV6 family, with a sports surround on the outside, equipped with a dual-motor four-wheel drive system, with a comprehensive maximum output of 430 kilowatts, a comprehensive torque of 740 Nm, and a 0-100 acceleration time of 35 seconds.
For reference, the EV6 GT-Line has a 0-100 acceleration time of 73 seconds (rear-wheel-drive) and 52 seconds (4WD). In addition, the EV6 GT version has its own Electronic Limited Slip Differential (E-LSD) and Electronically Controlled Suspension (ECS).
In terms of range, the EV6 GT has an all-electric range of 555km and supports 800V DC fast charging, which can be charged from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes.
Celebrating Kia's 80th anniversary with the Kia EV5
The Kia EV5 was launched during the Guangzhou Auto Show in November last year, with a guide price of 1498-17.480 thousand. Unlike the Kia EV6, which is an imported model, it is a truly localized model, and it is also a strategic model specially launched by Kia to celebrate its 80th anniversary.
The length, width and height of the Kia EV5 are 4615, 1875 and 1715mm, respectively, and the wheelbase is 2750mm, while the in-car system is equipped with Kia's latest generation CCNC in-vehicle infotainment system, which supports wireless Apple CarPlay, CarLife, and in-car WeChat.
In terms of configuration, it takes 17For example, the top version of 480,000 yuan, Kia EV5 is equipped with 7 airbags, L2 level intelligent driving assistance, induction electric tailgate, front seat heating, V2L external discharge, 220V power supply, etc., which is relatively rich in the joint venture field.
In terms of power, the Kia EV5 models on sale are all single-motor front-wheel drive versions, with a maximum power of 160 kW and a maximum torque of 310 Nm, and a pure electric range of 530 km in CLTC mode.
In addition, the EV5 comes standard with a 5-level adjustable intelligent kinetic energy** system, including i-Pedal one-pedal mode, as well as a heat pump system and a second-generation battery intelligent temperature control management system to effectively improve range.
It is worth mentioning that the follow-up Kia EV5 will also be launched in long-range and four-wheel drive versions, of which the long-range version will be launched in March, and the new car will be equipped with 88With a 1 kWh battery pack, the CLTC has a range of 720 km.
In the second half of the year, the dual-motor GT-LINE version will be launched, which has stronger power performance to meet the diverse needs of Chinese users.
Promote infrastructure construction
In addition to product layout, Kia is also actively cooperating with domestic charging companies to accelerate the layout of charging infrastructure, and at the same time expanding and improving the basic charging network in advance by cooperating with third-party charging companies.
For example, the 800V supercharging station cooperated by Kia China and Shell China has been opened in Nanjing, which is equipped with a 360kW super charging pile, which can match the 800V ultra-high-speed charging system of Kia's electric products, and the aforementioned Kia EV6, which can increase the range by 100km in 5 minutes.
It is worth mentioning that Kia China will also provide users with free personal home charging piles and installation services to build a more complete basic charging network.
Improve the service marketing system
Kia also attaches great importance to marketing services, and officially launched the Kia Kia app at the end of last year, which is Kia's first brand app launched worldwide, which covers almost all pre-sales and after-sales service options.
It is reported that through the APP, car owners can enjoy a series of heart-warming services such as maintenance appointment, one-click rescue, accessories appointment, car topics, etc., among which electric vehicle owners can also enjoy valet charging, pick-up and delivery, door-to-door maintenance and other services.
Write at the end
In general, in order to interpret the strategic concept of "in China", Kia is accelerating the pace of electrification transformation and adopting a series of measures, including the layout of electrification products, the promotion of related infrastructure construction, and the improvement of service and marketing systems.
Of course, in the field of traditional fuel vehicles, Kia has not given up, and Kia has also introduced another global model, SONET, and launched the K3 special model with upgraded configurations.
So in 2024, what surprises Kia Motors will bring to Chinese consumers, you might as well wait and see.