Kia Enters Commercial Vehicle Market with Electric Van Concepts
Kia has made its debut in the commercial vehicle sector at the IAA Transportation trade show, presenting the vanguard of its electric vans and highlighting its approach to fleet solutions.
Kia is showcasing the PV5 and PV7 concept cars at the Hanover trade fair. The company plans to begin production of the first series models in the summer of 2025. Kia’s strategy for the van market doesn’t solely focus on electric vehicles; the brand is also collaborating with partners in fleet management and vehicle conversion to offer new opportunities for its customers.
Fleet Management Partnership with Geotab
Kia Europe has announced its first partnership in this area. The company is working with Geotab, a provider of networked transport solutions, to establish a cross-brand fleet management system for Kia’s PBV vehicles. The system will include a white-labeled fleet management platform, a fleet manager app, a driver app, and in-vehicle infotainment integration.
According to Kia, this partnership also extends to added functions such as extended electric vehicle route features with automated recommendations for charging stops and a digital vehicle key (Digital Key 2.0). Services from the Kia Charge charging service, such as usage contracts and billing management, will also be integrated.
“As Kia PBVs will be the most technologically advanced LCVs available, we want to enhance every aspect of the customer experience through advanced connectivity,” said Marc Hedrich, President of Kia Europe. “This extends to having flexible data solutions that enable easy integration in multi-brand fleets without the need for additional hardware.”
Kia is using a specialized battery vehicle platform for its future light commercial vehicles, which can be adapted to different wheelbases, allowing for various vehicle sizes, body types, and conversions. A warranty of seven years or 150,000 kilometers will be offered on the PBVs. Kia began constructing a dedicated plant in Korea last year as part of a more than three-billion-euro investment. Kia expects an initial PBV production capacity of 150,000 units per year, which will gradually increase to 300,000 units worldwide.
