Automaker's skateboard platform promises to underpin a variety of commercial vehicles, but they won't get here overnight.
- Kia plans to construct a factory for electric purpose-built vehicles (PBVs), which it seeks to offer starting in 2025.
- The automaker plans to use its eS skateboard platform to design a variety of commercial vehicles for businesses, ranging from delivery vehicles to mobile shops.
- Kia plans to offer offer advanced autonomous driving capabilities in this upcoming range of PBVs, which will include delivery robots.
Kia already has the makings of hit on its hands with the debut of the EV6, but the automaker is getting ready to enter one other segment that has been seeing a lot of attention from startups large and small: Electric purpose-built vehicles, or PBVs. The South Korean automaker has revealed plans to build a new plant just for PBVs in a few years, targeting commercial buyers.
At stake is the lucrative market for such vehicles from logistics giants and other businesses, like ride-hailing apps, with Kia seeking to pair EVs with the expected arrival of advanced autonomous technology, one that will allow for fleets of driverless vehicles to perform a variety of delivery and transportation tasks.
Kia has shared a couple of renderings previewing its idea of its upcoming PBVs, with its first model slated to arrive by the second half of 2025. The renderings reveal delivery and MPV sketches, with a couple perhaps showing some parallels to Canoo designs.
Kia plans to use its eS skateboard platform to underpin a variety of electric models, targeting different business use cases.
Kia’s planned range of PBVs will cover both ends of the size spectrum, from small delivery robots to mobile shops.
Kia
“This dedicated PBV facility is one of the major pillars of our Plan S strategy as Kia seeks to claim the top position in the global PBV market,” said Ho Sung Song, president and CEO of Kia Corporation. “We will initially explore new markets with derivative PBV models, then gradually expand our presence in global markets with dedicated PBV models featuring autonomous driving technologies.”
Kia plans to begin building the PBV plant within its current Hwaseong manufacturing site in South Korea in 2023, so it won’t quite be the first automaker to roll out such vehicles, with Rivian, BrightDrop, and others being closer to wide-scale commercial launches. But the planned 100,000 annual production capacity should make Kia one of the volume leaders in the second half of the decade.
The automaker has indicated that its first PBV will be a midsize model codenamed SW, following the debut of which Kia will expand its lineup with multi-seat shuttles, logistics vehicles, food delivery vehicles, and even unmanned micro-sized PBVs.
That’s right, Kia is talking about delivery robots, which are still in an early stage of commercial rollouts. So the automaker’s plans won’t be limited solely to vehicles that can even carry passengers or bulky cargo inside. At the other end of the spectrum, the automaker is also promising PBVs that will be large enough to act as mobile shops or offices.
Keyword: Kia Wants to Get into Purpose-Built EVs