Discover Kia Motors plans for electric vehicles

Emilio Herrera, who has been chief executive of Kia Europe for 15 months, is keeping Kia on a growth path despite a steady decline in overall car sales in the region. Kia's European registrations rose 1.6% in the first half of the year to 268,305, despite a 3.1% drop in the market, according to the industry association.

Maintaining that pace is becoming increasingly difficult as Kia electrifies its lineup at a time when many customers are reluctant to switch to hybrids or all-electric models. Herrera shared his strategy with Automotive News Europe Correspondent Andrea Malan.

Can you give us a timetable for the electrification of the Ceed range?

Production of the XCeed [coupé-style] hybrid and Ceed plug-in station wagon will start at the end of November at our plant in Žilina [in Slovakia]. Both models will be on the market in January 2020. A mild-hybrid version of the Ceed hatchback will also launch in November. Gradually, each Ceed variant will get some form of electrification. We are also looking at an all-electric version.

What other vehicles will be part of the electrification campaign?

Next year's new Sorento will offer the current diesel engine plus hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. The Imagine by Kia concept we unveiled at this year's Geneva show will form the basis for the BEV (battery-electric vehicle) we will launch in 2021.

New generation Kia Sorento test vehicle

Do you need all those electrified vehicles to meet the tougher EU CO2 regulations that will come into force in 2021?

They will be crucial. Without BEVs and plug-in hybrids, it would be almost impossible to make the targets. We have to provide as many electric vehicles as possible for Europe to increase our overall sales in Europe or at least maintain volume. Otherwise we will have to reduce volume like some other brands, but we don't want to do that. We also don't want to pay penalties. Unfortunately, our task is getting harder every day, given the growth in SUV sales and the drop in diesel sales.

Will each Ceed variant offer plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid versions.

No. For now, only the XCeed hybrid and the Ceed will get a plug-in hybrid. The Ceed hatchback will get a mild hybrid, which we'll probably expand further....

Kia XCEED and CEED SW hybrid models

What would convince you to extend soft hybrids to the whole range?

If we see that we need less CO2, we could introduce them across the range. We have flexibility at the Gillin plant. If we don't do it immediately, it's because of the cost effect, because even adding a mild hybrid has an impact on the final price of the vehicle. We put a lot of technology into the vehicle.

Will the mild hybrid be offered in other models?

Not next year, but as soon as we change models, we'll introduce mild hybrid and other forms of electrification.

The basic question about mild hybrids: is the small CO2 reduction worth the extra cost?

The goal is so strict that every little bit counts. The mild hybrids will help, the type of tyres we use will help. We even have contingency plans for next year [when CO2 regulations start to come into effect] so we don't miss the target. Our Korean headquarters doesn't want us to miss the target. In Korean culture, that would be a major failure.

Kia Sportage mild hybrid system

What are your contingency plans?

For example, all company cars could be electric; all dealer demo cars could be electric; we could make our car-sharing facility in Spain all-electric. We could also introduce low-emission tyres on every vehicle.

How are your two battery electric cars, the eSoul and eNiro, doing?

They are selling so well that we are running out of stock. We released both machines earlier this year and most countries have already sold out their 2019 lots. Now those countries are selling 2020 products...

Is there a problem with battery power?

Yeah, we can't get enough of them.

Will this issue also affect upcoming plugin hybrids?

No, because we reworked the contracts with our plug-in battery suppliers. A year ago, we didn't expect such demand for BEVs, so we didn't ask LG Chem and SK Innovation for enough batteries. All of our batteries are currently sourced from Korea.

What about electric motors?

We produce them in a factory in Žilina.

How many electrified cars will you sell in Europe this year?

They will account for 15 per cent of our total sales, so about 75,000 out of 500,000 units.

How many BEVs?

About 12,000 eNiros and 4,000 eSouls.

Last year you said that Kia needed to sell 40,000 electric cars to meet the EU's CO2 emissions target. Is that still the case?

That's exactly the number we need for 2020. Fortunately, battery production will start to grow in the second half of this year, helping us to produce and sell the number of cars we need in 2020.