In mid-June, Kia Motors began volume production of its new all electric Kia Soul EV for export sales. A landmark in Kia’s history, the zero-emission Soul EV is Kia’s first electric vehicle to be marketed by the company outside Korea.
The first vehicles off the production line are destined for select European countries and are scheduled to go on sale across the continent during the second half of the year. The Soul EV is manufactured at Kia’s Gwangju facility in Korea, where annual output of the electric car is initially planned to reach 5000 units.
“Now that production of export models has begun, the new Soul EV is truly at the forefront of Kia’s ‘Clean Mobility’ program, providing environmentally friendly transport to our customers around the world,” comments Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia Motors Corporation.
“Although it is Kia’s first globally-sold all-electric vehicle, the Soul EV is our second-generation battery electric vehicle and benefits significantly from our in-depth experience gained from development of the Ray EV and proven daily operations of the Ray EV fleet in Korea for the past three years.”
Embodying the iconic design language of the second-generation Kia Soul, the Soul EV is a uniquely designed battery electric vehicle perfectly suited for city commuters thanks to its class-leading drive range, a spacious cabin and generous cargo area.
This is an exact article from Kia Motor’s issue 142 of vision 21 newsletter