Kia has announced plans to develop and launch a new range of vehicles using green technologies as it seeks to become a leader in low emission vehicles by 2020.
The company is set to invest US$10.2 billion (£6.7 billion) in the development of a ‘green car roadmap’ which will see the South Korean firm grow its green car line-up from four to 11 models over the next five years.
The funds, supplied by parent company Hyundai Motor Group, will be used to increase the firm’s research and development capabilities into fuel-efficient technologies and new products, which will result in a new range of advanced powertrains for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, as well as battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles.
Ki-Sang Lee, senior vice president, Eco Friendly Vehicle R&D Center, Kia Motors Corporation, said: “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.
“We don’t believe that there is any one ‘silver bullet’ that can satisfy the demand for low emission technology within the car industry, so we foresee a wide range of eco-friendly powertrains co-existing for an extended period of time. The plans we’ve announced today represent Kia’s ambition to become a worldwide leader in advanced propulsion technology.”
The first models set to be launched under the new 2020 roadmap will be the Kia Optima PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), featuring a high capacity lithium-polymer battery pack and electric motor, and the Niro hybrid utility vehicle (HUV), which will target CO2 emissions of 90 g/km. According to Kia, these models are set to be launched in the UK during the second half of 2016.
There are also plans to begin mass production of a new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in 2020, featuring next-generation hydrogen fuel stack technology. By using hydrogen gas as a fuel for generating electric power, FCEVs do not produce harmful tailpipe emissions when being driven.
Kia is working alongside 300 partner companies to develop the next-generation FCEV technology and is aiming to produce around 1,000 new Kia FCEV units per year, with the intention of increasing this figure as demand for fuel cell vehicles rises.
Kia’s FCEV will feature a fuel stack similar in size to a 2.0-litre internal combustion engine, which engineers are planning to develop to be 5% more efficient and offer 10% greater stack performance, despite being around 15% lighter and 15% lower in volume, compared to current generation fuel cell stacks. The result is a targeted range of more than 800km from a single fill-up and a top speed of around 170kph (106mph).
Despite its ambitions for low emission vehicles, Kia’s FCEV could face an infrastructure challenge in the UK as currently there is a lack of hydrogen fuelling stations across the country. The first opened in September this year when ITM Power created the site at the Advanced Manufacturing Park near the M1 in Rotherham.
Steve Kitson, director of corporate communications at Kia, said that while plug in charging points are likely to be in place in time for the new releases, hydrogen fuelling needs to be made more widely available. He added: “Currently plug in infrastructure is progressing adequately for the take-up being experienced so we are not concerned overly. We do want to see hydrogen infrastructure in the UK – electric plug in is not the complete answer and other countries are further ahead than the UK.”
Kia’s research into new fuel cells is intended to help the company in its aim to raise its average corporate fuel efficiency by 25% over 2014 levels by 2020.
By David Pratt.
