US, China to serve as Kia’s key offshore EV production bases

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest carmaker after its sibling Hyundai Motor Co., has upped the stakes in China and the US to bolster its EV sales worldwide amid the ongoing trade row between the world’s two biggest economies.

Kia started production of its all-electric EV9 three-row sport utility vehicle at its plant in West Point, Georgia, home to its popular SUV models – Telluride, Sorento and Sportage – the Korean carmaker announced on May 30.

The company expects the EV9’s US production will enhance the flagship electric SUV’s pricing competitiveness in the world’s third-biggest EV market under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which doles out generous government’s subsidies to only EVs assembled in the US with part, components and raw materials for batteries sourced from the country or its allies.

Kia spent $200 million to add the EV production lines to its West Point plant in Georgia.

POPULAR IN OVERSEAS MARKETS UNLIKE AT HOME

The EV9 is growing in popularity in the US thanks to its 99.8-kilowatthour (kWh) battery capacity, enabling it to run for 501 kilometers on a single charge, the longest driving range for Kia’s EVs. Its three-row passenger seat arrangement is also attributed to its high popularity.

It sold 2,187 units in the US in May, up 39% from the previous month. Kia’s total EV sales in the market for the month also hit a new record of 7,197 units, more than doubling from the same month a year ago.

Kia pins high hopes on EV9 production from its US plant for a boost in its EV sales in North America amid growing trade protectionism, said a Kia official.

Kia will continue to churn out EV9 cars from its Korean plant in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, which are mainly shipped to Korea and other countries.

Since its launch in June last year, Kia had sold 48,291 units of the EV9 at home and abroad as of April, including outbound shipments of 39,309 units.

Over the first four months of this year, its overseas sales hit 12,211 units, of which 5,579 units were shipped to the US, but its Korean sales reached 970 only because of its high price tag of up to 100 million won ($72,400).  

EV5 GOES BEYOND CHINA

Kia is also betting on the EV5 compact SUV, its China-dedicated EV model currently assembled on the lines of its Chinese plant in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province.

The Korean carmaker started exporting the EV5 to countries in the Asia Pacific, such as Thailand and Australia, last month, it said.

The EV5 is Kia’s first China-made all-electric vehicle to ride on the world’s biggest EV market boom. It is equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries supplied by China’s BYD and certified for a 720-km driving range on a single charge.

Kia plans to export the EV5 to Middle Eastern countries from China later.

It has set a target to produce more than 30,000 units of the EV5 this year and export over 10,000 units.

Its three plants in China will be reinvigorated by the expanded EV5 export plan, resulting in a total production capacity of nearly 900,000 units. Kia aims to export 280,000 units in total from the three plants for this year.

Amid flagging EV demand across the world, Kia in May premiered the EV3, its entry-level, low-priced electric SUV, in hopes of reviving clean automobile demand.

Write to Jung-Eun Shin at newyearis@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.