Like other car manufacturers, Kia will launch full speed into electric cars, but the Korean manufacturer also has the ambition to quickly establish itself in the field of autonomous cars.
Kia’s future electric SUV, the EV9, will be the first in the manufacturer’s new range to integrate Automode technology, which is in a way the equipment of Tesla’s Autopilot. Automode offers several functions, such as autopilot on the highway. Kia did not specify, but all of these features should bring the EV9 closer to level 3 of autonomous driving, a level reached by few manufacturers at present.
Automode, Kia’s Autopilot
Automode will benefit from regular updates, which will be provided “over the air”, i.e. wirelessly, a model imposed by Tesla. This autonomous driving technology is intended to expand to future other Kia models, and the roadmap is full. The company unveiled a few days ago its intention to launch 14 electric vehicles by 2027, with the aim of selling 1.2 million by 2030, out of a total of 4 million.
Kia therefore does not intend to abandon the thermal and hybrid engine market, at least not immediately, unlike other manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz thus plans to sell only electric cars by 2030. Kia intends to sell 160,000 all-electric vehicles this year, and plans to multiply these sales by five by 2026 (more than 800,000 units).
To go the distance, the group plans to launch at least two new electric models each year. Among them will be a pick-up to walk on the flowerbeds of Ford’s F-150 Lightning or Tesla’s Cybertruck. Kia also intends to market a “ strategic model for emerging markets. The EV9, which will be available in the course of next year, offers a range of 540 km and will be able to accomplish a 0 to 100 km in 5 seconds.
