Kia Motors has revealed its green car roadmap which puts a premium on the development of more eco-friendly vehicles and technologies, helping the brand in its bid to be a leading low emission vehicle manufacturer before 2020.
Hyundai Motor Group, Kia’s parent company, will be investing a total USD 10.2-billion in the endeavor. Not only will it help fund research and development for greener models, it will also be used to build new environment-conscious facilities, in turn helping create thousands of new domestic jobs.
Ki-Sang Lee, senior vice president, Eco-Friendly Vehicle R&D Center, Kia Motors Corporation, commented, “Global market demand is shifting to electric vehicles, with oil prices predicted to rise in (the) future. The electric and plug-in hybrid vehicle market will grow rapidly in the coming years, and this investment will enable Kia to meet the growing demand with a range of advanced new products and technologies.”
Kia is hoping to expand its current stable of four green cars to 11 in five years. The company is well on their way towards their goal with the recent teasing of the Kia Optima Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle with a high-capacity Li-po battery pack, electric motor, and six speed automatic gearbox; and the Niro Hybrid Utility Vehicle with a C02 emission of 90g/km.
Additionally, Kia has set its eye on a 2020 mass production date of an all-new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. It will feature a new fuel stack akin to that of a 2L internal combustion engine paired to an advanced power train. The brand’s engineers estimate that the final model will be 5-percent more efficient and 10-percent more powerful while being 15-percent lighter and 15-percent less in volume compared to current fuel cell stacks. Range is currently pegged at 800km at a top speed of 170km/h.
Seven out of 10 current engine makes from the brand will also be replaced with next generation units to optimize its existing lineup. All in all, these will equate to an average corporate fuel efficiency growth of 25-percent over a five-year period.