Kia’s EV plans to inspire over next five years

Currently, the EV platform models are assembled in Korea but inside three years they will be made in Slovakia as well for the European market.

Mr Sayles added that they are very excited about the future of EVs with more than 2,500 rapid chargers (50kW+) now available in the UK via Kia Charge, as of April.

Kia Charge – an exclusive service designed to simplify public EV charging – now gives Kia owners access to more DC connectors in the UK than almost any other brand.

DC charging is crucial to allowing electric vehicle owners to recharge quickly while en route to a destination. Since April 2021, Kia Charge has seen its number of available DC rapid chargers grow by 33 per cent in the UK, from 1,951 connectors to 2,591 – more than any single ‘super charger’ network in the UK.

These include DC chargers of 50kW or more, as well as high-power charging stations that can recharge at up to 350kW.

But that’s not the final throw of the dice for petrol engines in Kia’s global ranges.

“We know that Europe will still need petrol engined models because of infrastructure shortcomings until 2034 and we will make what our customers want to buy and demand is still there.”

At the same time, Kia is looking at future forms of batteries to ensure they are the greenest, most efficient and have the longest ranges without costing enormous sums of money.

The present e-Niro is currently the best selling electric car in the UK and that’s a great platform from which to build sales of the new generation model coming this July which could see half of them being pure battery vehicles.

Kia success has been down to its comparatively young range of models, latest technology and strength of its dealership network which have combined to earn it the Car Brand of the Year Which? Award 2022.

All New Niro comes this summer as a hybrid, PHEV and BEV priced from £27,745, £32,775 and £34,995 respectively in the familiar 2,3 or 4 grades with automatic transmission only.

So you can see Kia has come a long way since it arrived in the UK in 1991 and has lived up to its motto of “Movement that inspires”, both what it’s doing for itself and the buyers it serves.

On a nearly full-charge it was indicating about 244 miles range, and depending which of three driving modes – economical, normal or dynamic – were selected the distance and performance would vary.

It is a very practical car inside and out with a large cabin, reasonable boot and very comfortable interior now brimming with the latest gadgets, screens and controls.

The price is not cheap but it doesn’t look cheap either and has a distinctive style with extensive piano-black finishes to set it off.

The seats were very comfortable and all the controls were responsive to hand or foot, with good roadholding, a smooth ride and respectable performance on country roads where it easily kept up with traffic flow.

Kia increased the power two years ago when it also made some cosmetic and equipment changes over the first generation which had been launched with a 27kWh battery and then raised to 30kWh as the market took off.

All this development and experience has been put to good use at the other end of their UK range of SUVs in the Sorento 1.6 T GDi PHEV 4 AWD costing £55,355 as tested.

This has a petrol and electric motor package packing 261bhp with 35miles pure ev range producing just 38gkm emissions and using combined petrol and electric you might see a typical 176.6mpg with over 800 miles range.

Sorento (below) really is the height of Kia luxury and ease of driving, rivaling the best from more expensive British and German prestige brands.

It was very quiet, extremely comfortable, and capable of covering ground quickly and in a very composed manner. With seven seats available it was also very roomy as a family car for long weekends and holidays.