“We are not treading the middle-ground”: Kia India to launch affordable EV by 2025, says no to hybrids

Based on the interaction conducted by Arpit Mahendra.
Kia India has had a bumper opening in India, recording highest-ever monthly sales at 28,634 units in January 2023. At the recently concluded 2023 Auto Expo, TOI Auto got in touch with Mr Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President, National Head-Sales & Marketing, Kia India and Mr Myung-sik Sohn, Chief Sales & Business Officer, Kia India, to find out what the South Korean automaker has planned for India based on the country’s response to EVs and the changing mobility climate.Brar shared insights on an upcoming mass-market EV currently under development, Kia’s new Purpose-Built-Vehicles (PBV) business and why a hybrid model is not on the cards. Here’s how it went.

As announced in January 2023, Kia India is gearing up to invest Rs 2,000 crore in the country, majorly for EV-related R&D, manufacturing and charging infrastructure development. Brar confirmed that the investment will be part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme announced by the government and will be used to develop an India-centric EV. The VP told TOI Auto, “We are looking to launch our mass market EV by the year 2025 and we expect the industry to take-off by that time. Right now EV penetration is projected to be about 5 percent of the market by 2025. Assuming that the industry volume is up to 4.2 million by then, we can expect about 2 lakh total EVs being sold at that time. That is the time when we will launch our ground-up EV."

Production of the mass-market EV will be accommodated at Kia India’s existing plant in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. The plant is equipped for EV production and has already exceeded its installed capacity of 3 lakh vehicles per annum. Kia plans to improve production capacity further by improving efficiency and has recently added a third shift to the production lines.
“Another projection is that EVs will constitute about 13 percent of the market by 2030, which is going to be significant, so we feel 2025 would be a good take-off point and that is when the real action will start.” Brar added. While he did not disclose any details on the amount of development that will be done in India for the EV, he did tell us that the R&D centre in India and Kia’s global R&D team are working together for its development. The India team will look after the nuances of the market here, such as extreme temperature, road conditions and so on and the global team will look after the design, interiors and so on.

Sohn further told TOI Auto that Kia plans to globally launch fourteen BEVs by 2027, as per the automaker’s strategy. “In terms of India, if we see demand and the feasibility seems good, then we will introduce some of those BEVs here. However, we are focussed presently on developing our India-centric EV.” Sohn added.
Another key area that Kia India seems to be working on is PBVs, for use in public service applications such as police and medical sectors. In this regard, a glimpse at a couple of Kia Carens MPVs designed for enforcement and ambulance use was also given to patrons at the recent Auto Expo. “We found that there is a gap in the Indian market after speaking to police and medical personnel. There are a lot of issues with their existing fleets, as they were not essentially designed for duty. The current fleets have been modified by local vendors to suit the needs and these vehicles are on duty for days at an end. Personnel need a bench seat where they can sleep, they need organised storage space, a water source to wash hands or freshen up and resources to take care of accident victims. Accounting for all these factors, we have developed these PBVs,. Having efficient cars will make the personnels’ job more efficient as well", Brar added.

The PBV business isn’t only focused on India, as globally, Kia is looking to become the leader in PBVs by 2030. Sohn also hinted towards an EV based PBV which will likely take shape in the future as demand grows.
But we won’t be seeing Kia PCRs and ambulances on Indian road immediately, as they have not been launched yet. “We are looking to launch our PBVs here in India sometime in the middle of 2023. That is when we will begin to approach government departments for orders. We still have to complete the formalities to register our cars under the government portal.” Brar confirmed to TOI Auto.

When we asked Hardeep Singh Brar, if the company plans to dabble in hybrids like its high-volume competitors, the VP said, “We are not treading the middle-ground. We are just focusing on EVs as hybrids are just transitional and are a middle-stage in the journey to complete electrification. Globally, we are focused on EVs."
Being close to the Hyundai podium where the Ioniq 5 EV had just been launched, we asked Brar if Kia India is working on a strategy for premium EVs in India. After all, the EV6 CBUs announced in 2022 have received an encouraging response and the order book is much higher than the initial 100 units that were announced. So why not localise such a premium EV and sell more of them?
To this, Brar said, “Right now we feel that the kind of volumes which are there in the 50+ lakh segment do not not justify local production.

Responding to the significant price difference between the Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Brar said that, "when you compare the EV6 with other cars, we have a far better car in terms of looks, driveline and battery capacity. The range in the EV6 is higher, there are more airbags and overall there are 12 areas where our product is much better hence the premium is justified for us."
What are your expectations from an affordable ‘India-centric’ Kia EV? Tell us in the comments.