Photo of the Niro EV Concept courtesy of Kia.

Photo of the Niro EV Concept courtesy of Kia.

Kia has outlined its mobility plans for the future, which includes a focus on autonomous and connected car technology, and the introduction of 16 new advanced powertrain vehicles by 2025.

The automaker plans to operate a large-scale test fleet for autonomous technology on public roads from 2019, and also aims to commercialize Level 4 autonomous vehicles in smart cities from 2021 with via a pilot project called Smart City, the automaker announced at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, Kia’s upcoming suite of new electrified vehicles will include five new hybrids and plug-in hybrids, five new battery-electric vehicles, and an all-new fuel-cell electric vehicle, the automaker announced. Kia exhibited its Niro EV Concept at CES 2018, which is a fully-electric compact SUV that offers a numbers of enhanced safety features and suggests a driving range of 238 miles.

Further still, Kia announced a car-sharing service for Europe called “WiBLE,” which provides vehicles to customers who need to drive but may not own a car of their own or who want more convenient drive in city centers, Kia said in a release. WiBLE is accessed via an accompanying smartphone app and allows users to complete one-way journeys. The service was initially launched in Korea last year.

Kia will announce the first European locations for the launch of WiBLE later in 2018, according to the automaker.

0 Comments