Kia Jumps Into Electric Van Market, Announces New Vehicle And Factory

Kia has announced the opening of a brand-new manufacturing facility for its upcoming commercial vehicle lineup known as "purpose-built vehicles," or PBVs. Despite the enormous cost-cutting opportunity, commercial vehicles remain an ICE-dominated segment, particularly in vehicles that tow trailers, which are mostly diesel-powered. However, this is slowly changing and attracting an increasing number of automakers. Kia, for example, announced today that it would construct a brand-new commercial electric vehicle plant in South Korea. The automaker announced its new commercial offering as part of a larger announcement from the Hyundai Group, which stated that the automotive group would now aim to become one of the top three global automakers by 2030.

Its new plant, which broke ground today, represents a massive 1 trillion won ($758 million) investment from the automaker. It will have a production capacity of 150,000 units per year when it is operational in 2025. Kia did state that it expects production to increase but did not provide specifics. Kia has been extremely tight-lipped about the PBVs it will produce, revealing only a simple render of a Canoo-esque set of electric vans. Aside from this rendering, the company stated that the vehicles would be built on the all-new "eS" electric skateboard platform and would be manufactured using a "flexible production method," allowing for easy transition between variants of the vehicle.

Kia will fully launch its PBV lineup in 2025, ahead of the start of mass production at the new plant, and according to a company spokesman, these vehicles could be used in a variety of applications, including "logistics, fresh food delivery, multi-seat shuttles, and mobile offices."