"We pushed to innovate, to make our products the best they could be"
“First we offered the Soul and then, the Niro, with a hybrid, plug-in and full-EV option. A rational, good efficient product but even though it didn’t excite the press, it gained market share.
"A great car, but still we wanted to be better and offer more, so we worked on a dedicated platform, 800 volts to increase performance and efficiency and also charge faster, and rear-drive for better dynamics and traction. In E-GMP we also introduced silicone carbide in the inverters and we were the only platform to use that with 800 volts. Not even the famous German sportscar maker did this. This is how we have the EV6 GT.
“For EV9, we have been working strongly on our navigation to have a better routing system that's constantly connected. It means we can optimise the charging strategy, based on your journey, your speed, how busy it is. This is to solve the challenge of long journeys in EVs. Also, Plug and Charge [Kia's new automatic charging and payment system] means you can easily plug in, get charging and pay automatically.
"Everything we can do to help, to make the EV journey easier, is better. You want a peaceful, easy life, same with the key. Let’s have the key on your phone – one device for your communication, house key, car key. Simplify your life.
“We’ve pushed to innovate, to make our products the best they could be. The same in the design. We wanted our customers to be excited and delighted and surprised and attracted to our cars.”