Kia considers second plant for electric taxis and ride-hailing vehicles
The Korea Economic Daily reports this, citing industry insiders. The second plant, like the first electric PBV plant officially announced in April, will be built on the site of Kia’s existing Hwaseong plant in Gyeonggi province (80 kilometres southwest of Seoul) and will produce large electric PBVs codenamed LW from 2028. Nothing is known about the capacity of the new production facility, nor any details about the vehicle.
Anyhow, the construction of the second plant is not yet definite. According to the Korean media report, Kia still has to reach an agreement with the unionised workers. They protested against the project because the company decided to build the new factory on a site for a material factory and not on unused land and because Kia mentioned outsourcing plans.
The first electric PBV plant in Hwaseong will start production in the second half of 2024. The plant is designed to produce up to 150,000 vehicles per year initially. If the second plant were to manufacture at a similar scale from 2028, these vehicles could provide Kia with a significant portion of Hyundai Motor Group’s planned EV production – 1.51 million electric vehicles are planned for 2030 from the South Korean plants. Hyundai is also planning an EV-only plant in Ulsan.
Within the Hyundai Motor Group, the Kia brand has been given the lead in PBVs. Kia sees “Purpose Built Vehicles” as an essential driver of future business. Besides special electric taxis, electric shuttles, vehicles as mobile offices or for parcel delivery are also possible. Kia has yet to specify which vehicles it will build from 2025 or 2028.
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