Kia EV1 targets Europe as the race for the affordable electric car tightens
The Kia EV1 has emerged as the latest talking point in Europe’s electric car market. Kia’s official material spoke of expanding its range of smaller, mass market electric models, hinting at a city car set to sit below the EV2, with a starting price that could land at around €23,000. This time, though, Kia was not just selling a vision. It also put forward the outline of a model that could genuinely make it to the street.
Kia wants volume, not a niche role, in Europe
Kia’s ambitions look bold even by the usually loud standards of the car industry. By 2030, the company wants to sell 4.19 million cars, with 2.33 million of those coming from electrified models and 1.26 million from fully electric vehicles. In Europe, Kia is targeting 774,000 sales and wants electrified models to account for 86 per cent of the mix. That goes a long way towards explaining why it needs a smaller, cheaper electric car here.
The first figures for the smaller model
For now, the car is still known internally by the working title B HB, and Kia has yet to confirm the final name. It is expected to sit below the EV2, and will most likely share the same technical foundations and part of the powertrain line up. Early expectations point to a range of 320 to 480 kilometres and output of around 150 bhp, or roughly 110 kW. For a small car, that sounds entirely sufficient, especially in the city, where nobody needs the battery capacity of three counties every morning.
The price only falls if production gets cheaper
Kia is not pretending the promise of a cheaper electric car will arrive by magic. The company wants to increase global production capacity by 17 per cent by 2030, taking it to 4.25 million cars, while expanding the role of local manufacturing in key markets. In that strategy, Europe has been given the job of focusing on compact SUVs and hatchbacks. At the same time, Kia says it will cut costs through simpler hardware, next generation electronics and more flexible production. In other words, the romance always ends in the factory. That is where it will be decided whether €23,000 remains an advertising line or becomes a real price.
Market pressure, with Volkswagen and Renault pushing at the same door
Volkswagen has promised a production version of the ID. EVERY1 for Europe by 2027 at around €20,000, while Renault says the Twingo E Tech electric should also come in below €20,000. So if Kia reaches the market with a model priced from about €23,000, it will certainly be chasing the mass market, but it will not automatically claim the title of the truly cheap electric car. Europe’s car industry loves talking about affordability at the moment. Once the price list appears, the word somehow always becomes a little philosophical.
