Kia Motors Reveals its $25 Billion Electrification Strategy for 2020-2025

author: Manish Kharinta   

Kia Motors President & CEO Han-woo Park presents at the automaker's CEO Investor Day in Seoul.

South Korean carmaker Kia Motors disclosed its "Plan S" strategy, which is the automaker's mid-to long-term vehicles electrification plan. The company will be investing $25 billion (29 trillion won) in Plan S, which the company claims will help it advance in its transition to EVs and other mobility solutions by the year 2025. 

Kia also announced that it plans on selling around half a million battery-only vehicles by 2026.

To kick off its 'Plan S' strategy, Kia will introduce 11 electric models by 2025, which will include both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs). The company confirmed that it intends on introducing a total of 1 million environmentally-friendly vehicles by 2026. 

This projection is a global annual sales target and does not account for sales in the Chinese market.

"As the auto industry undergoes turbulent changes, today is also an opportune time for Kia Motors to radically transform itself into a global enterprise dedicated to spearheading customer value-led innovations," said Kia Motors President and CEO Han-woo Park. "Kia Motors will actively innovate to take on the challenges ahead, identifying and capitalizing on new opportunities to propel the company forward."

The Kia Imagine EV is built on an all-new dedicated EV platform. It will come out next year.

Kia claims that by 2025, 25% of all cars sold by the brand will comprise solely of eco-friendly vehicles and will feature some level of electrification. Kia aims to acquire 6.6% of the global EV market share by 2025. 

Kia plans to introduce its first-ever battery-only vehicle next year. The company said the upcoming EV will be built on an all-new electric vehicle architecture and feature a crossover body style. The EV's driving range will be 310 miles (500 kilometers) and come with DC fast charging capabilities.

The electric crossover's battery pack can be charged up to 80% state of charge in less than 20 minutes using DC fast charging. Kia did not comment on whether the WLTP or EPA test procedure was used to compute the EV's range estimate.

Kia also said that it plans on introducing a wide and diverse range of customer-oriented products which will get "dual-charging" capabilities. The crossover will feature an 800 volt battery system that will be compatible with 400/800 volt charging.

During the automaker's presentation to shareholders, analysts and credit-rating agencies at Kia's "CEO Investor Day" in Seoul, a slideshow depicting vehicles with different body types sharing the same architecture was displayed. 

These body types included a compact utility vehicle (CUV), SUV, minivan and sedan, which makes for a diverse electrified line-up that will come in handy, considering Kia aims to achieve a 10.6% return on its electrification investment with a 6% operating margin target.

To achieve return on investment, Kia will innovate its basic cost structure with the adoption of an EV architecture development system to consolidate its EV leadership. It's centered on the optimization of design and standardization, reduced material costs and increased sharing of components from ICE vehicles.

In North America, Europe and South Korea, Kia is working on ensuring that 20% of all its vehicles sold are EVs by the year 2025.

By 2025, Kia forecasts that the profitability of EVs will be on par with ICE vehicles.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.