Kia confirms electric Hilux rival in 2026, budget EV too (Picanto?), 14 new models by 2027

• Budget BEV model planned (electric next gen Kia Picanto?)
• 2 electric pick-up trucks, including one Hilux-rival for developing markets
• Kia to launch at least 2 BEV models every year starting 2023

Kia announced yesterday that it is aiming to sell 4 million vehicles by 2030, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) contributing 1.2 million units. Including hybrids, sales of green vehicles will contribute 50 percent of the company’s total sales worldwide.

At the company’s CEO Investor Day event yesterday, Song Ho-Sung, President and CEO said Kia ended 2021 with its highest ever revenue and operating profit, at USD 57.45 billion and USD 4.22 billion respectively.

CEO Song also said Kia will increase its annual sales target by 27 percent, from the current 3.15 million vehicles for 2022, to 4 million units by 2030.

Much of the growth will come from green vehicles – hybrids and BEVs, with 80 percent of BEV sales to come from North America, Europe, China, and Korea, where demand for such cars are projected to increase.

Starting in 2023, Kia plans to launch at least two BEV models per year, building to a full line-up of 14 BEVs by 2027.

Kia will also add two electric pick-up trucks – a dedicated electric truck and a strategic model for emerging markets – as well as an entry-level BEV model.

The last 2 models are of particular interest because these are obviously aimed for our region.

The dedicated electric pick-up truck mentioned will obviously be modelled after the likes of Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T, which we have to point out, none of which have entered production yet despite the amount of talk by the respective company’s founders.

The other ‘strategic model’ for emerging markets will be something like a Ford F-150 – which is available either with electric drive (F-150 Lightning) or a regular combustion engine, but scaled down for emerging markets to be closer in size to a Ford Ranger or a Toyota Hilux.

The Toyota Hilux is without a doubt, the No.1 selling model (by a very wide margin too) in South East Asia, Ocenia, Africa and Latin America.

Toyota is rumoured to be working on a hybrid variant of the next generation Hilux. It has also presented an electric truck concept, but that model looks more like a full-size truck, an electric Toyota Tundra aimed at USA rather than smaller mid-size models preferred by users in emerging markets like South East Asia.

Also read: Checkmate? Toyota to sell 3.5 million EVs by 2030, unveils 16 models, 14 more coming - world's largest EV player?

The entry-level BEV model is also interesting, as it could point to an electric, next generation Kia Picanto.

The model will be produced in India, by 2025, along with a new mid-size electric model.

Currently, Kia’s cheapest BEV model is the Kia Niro EV. It used to make an electric variant of the A-segment Korea-only Kia Ray but that variant has since been discontinued.

At the upper end of its portfolio, Kia has also confirmed that the flagship Kia EV9 will join its line-up by 2023. The electric SUV will have a 540 km driving range, and goes from 0 – 100 km/h in under 5 seconds.

To support this BEV ambition, Kia is working to secure 119 GWh of battery supply capacity by 2030, up from the current 13 GWh.

Shortage in battery supply is one of the reasons (the other being shortage of semiconductor parts) why sales of the Kia EV6 couldn’t grow as fast as the company had hoped for.

In Australia, there is a 3-year waiting period for the Kia EV6. Pre-orders have been halted after securing 1,800 deposits, against an annual allocation of just 500 cars per year.

Local distributor Dinamikjaya Motors, a subsidiary of Bermaz, is expected to launch the Kia EV6 within the second half of this year.