Fast Facts | Kia on the GreenCars Podcast
🎤 GreenCars Podcast Guest: James Bell, head of corporate communications at Kia America
🔌 Electric Vehicles: Bell said Kia is staying focused on electrification, with the EV3 being its latest introduction
🔋EREVs: Last year, Kia's CEO said EREVs were coming to the U.S.; Bell said this powertrain will likely be included on utility vehicles
🚘 Sedans: The Kia K4 and K5 are sticking around, with sales of both up significantly this year
🙋 Young People Like Sedans: Bell said younger buyers want something nimble, fuel-efficient, and fun to drive instead of their parents' SUVs
EVs, EREVs, Hybrids, and Sedans All Have a Seat at the Table
While many competitors scale back electrification plans and kill sedan programs, Kia says it's moving the other way. It's keeping sedans, expanding its EV lineup, and planning to launch extended-range EVs (EREVs) in the U.S.
James Bell, Kia America's Head of Corporate Communications, recently was on the GreenCars podcast to discuss what's next for Kia.
Staying the Course on EVs
Bell said he's seen competitors start to back out of the EV space, with some exiting completely due to the current administration. Kia, however, is staying focused on electrification. It just introduced the EV3, and as Bell put it, electrification is where the world is headed. He admitted the U.S. is in a bit of a "funny space" at the moment, but said the rest of the world is inevitably heading toward full electrification, and Kia will be ready when it gets there.
That said, Kia is taking some cues from the US market. Its new factory in Savannah, Georgia, was originally designed to build only EVs, but the automaker pivoted to build vehicles there, like the Sportage Hybrid, that better fit the current needs of US buyers.
Kia’s flexible approach fits a larger industry move toward more hybrid choices while automakers rethink the pace of pure-EV adoption, so see how hybrid strategies are expanding across the U.S. market ➜
EREVs Are on the Way
Bell also hinted at what's coming next for Kia's electric future. Last year, Kia's CEO Ho Sung Song said the automaker would bring EREVs to market. Bell says those powertrains will likely show up on a utility vehicle, the kind of vehicle that wouldn't get great fuel efficiency without the tech. He's even spotted a couple of EREV prototypes running around Kia's compound while at work, though he doesn't know how much electric range they'll have.
An EREV still drives through electric motors, but a gasoline engine generates electricity when the battery runs low, so see how extended-range EVs differ from plug-in hybrids ➜
Sedans Are Staying
Bell was clear that EREV tech won't come to the K4, but that doesn't mean sedans don't have a future in Kia's lineup. After Ford dropped the Fusion and Chevrolet dropped the Malibu, Bell recalls reporters reaching out to ask when Kia would drop the Optima. His answer was, "We're not." In fact, Kia relaunched it as the K5, and sales of both the K5 and K4 are up significantly this year.
Bell said sedans appeal to younger buyers who were raised in the back seat of an SUV and don't want to drive what their parents drove. Kia is finding that younger drivers prefer something more nimble, fuel-efficient, and fun to drive instead of a big SUV with a third row of seats that never gets used.
More on Kia’s Electrified Future
2027 Kia EV3: Kia’s Most Affordable EV Starts at $31,385
Kia’s newest U.S. EV puts real numbers behind Bell’s argument, with a roughly $30,000 starting price and as much as 321 miles of EPA-estimated range.
Read More ➜
Hyundai Targets 5.55 Million Sales by 2030, Santa Fe EREV Arrives in 2027
Kia’s corporate sibling offers a clearer preview of how extended-range EVs could fit larger utility vehicles in North America.
Read More ➜
The GreenCars Podcast Is Back With New Conversations About the Future of Driving
Meet the hosts and see how Season 2 is bringing automakers, engineers, analysts, and sustainability leaders directly into the conversation.
Read More ➜
