Kia improves charging route planning via OTA update

Kia has announced a new software update for its vehicles from model year 2022 onwards. Among the 153 new features are an optimised route planner, additional voice commands, and a driver speed assistance warning that can now be turned off using the mute button on the steering wheel.

The new screen feature among Kia’s software updates enables a split-screen view that the company says makes it easier to read the arrival time, charging status and information on charging stations. The new updates also mean the navigation system will recognize charging stations along the route and automatically add them as waypoints, whereas previously, this required manual planning. Via the new split screen, the system should, according to Kia, give the driver a better overview of the most important charging information.

If the set destination cannot be reached with the current charge level, the route planner can now automatically add charging stations to the route, which should speed up route planning. Until now, there was only a message that the range to the destination was not sufficient, and charging stations were suggested, although the user still had to select these manually.

Another relevant aspect of the software updates for Kia’s electric cars, vans and minibuses is that battery preconditioning is also activated when the driver searches for charging stations using voice recognition. An optimally tempered battery is important in order to achieve the (expected) charging power at a fast charging station. At high or low temperatures, the system can bring the battery into the required temperature window before the scheduled charging process.

The update also includes the SoundCloud music streaming service and new voice commands (for example, for the date and time, ambient lighting and instrument cluster information). Kia also emphasises that, in addition to the software itself, the wireless transmission of the OTA update has also been improved so that the over-the-air updates can now be carried out significantly faster thanks to a three times larger bandwidth. For all Kia vehicles equipped with a navigation system from model year 2022 onwards, the software update can be installed as an OTA update without having to take the vehicle to a dealer.

“The array of intelligent changes available in this latest update is strong proof that over-the-air updates deliver significant improvements that enable the vehicle to get better throughout the ownership experience,” said Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President of Marketing and Product at Kia Europe and Managing Director of Kia Connect. “At Kia, we are always looking at ways to make our vehicles better, and our customers now get to enjoy these improvements several times a year, without having to do anything.”

kia.com