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Kia Soul EV starts production in Korea

As sister company Hyundai delivers its first Tucson fuel cell vehicles in California, Kia has kicked off volume production of the Soul EV in Korea. We've driven the prototype and are excited about the arrival of this electric vehicle. Kia is already calling the production start a landmark event, but let's remember that other automakers have been building production EVs for years now. The EVs won't be exported outside of Korea until later in 2014, but the automaker is hoping to make 5,000 a year at its Gwangju facility. The first batch is headed to "select European countries" with more coming to Europe at a later date. The vehicle might be coming to the US in the third quarter. The Soul EV is Kia's second production EV, following the Ray EV. Kia only made 2,500 of them for governmental agency use in Korea. We've got a little video on the Soul EV here. As a reminder, the Soul has a 27-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery which is good for a now-official range (on the European test cycle) of 212 kilometers. That's 132 miles, but expect a good chunk to get knocked off when it gets rated on the US text cycle. For example, the Nissan Leaf is rated at 199 kilometers (123 miles) in Europe but only 84 miles from the EPA. Read Kia's press release below. Start of production for all-electric Kia Soul EV Volume production of Soul EV for export is a landmark in Kia's history Ideal for commuters, Soul EV goes on sale outside Korea later in 2014 Class-leading drive range of 212 km certified for Europe 81.4 kW motor produces 285 Nm of torque for 'fun-to-drive' motoring The first vehicles off the production line are destined for select European countries and are scheduled to go on sale across the continent during the second half of the year. The Soul EV is manufactured at Kia's Gwangju facility in Korea, where annual output of the electric car is planned to reach 5,000 units. "Now that production of export models has begun, the new Soul EV is truly at the forefront of Kia's 'Clean Mobility' program, providing environmentally-friendly transport to our customers around the world," comments Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia Motors Corporation.

Kia will unveil the new 2021 Sorento at the Geneva Motor Show

While the 2020 Chicago Auto Show is around the corner, Kia picked this year's edition of the Geneva show to introduce the next-generation Sorento. The popular crossover will arrive in time for the 2021 model year. The South Korean company explained it designed and engineered the new Sorento "to take on everything life can throw at it," and it published a pair of red-tinted teaser sketches to accompany its announcement. The images would normally give us our best look yet at the upcoming crossover, but spy photographers unabashedly ruined Kia's surprise by sending us a full gallery of images showing the soft-roader completely camouflage-free on the set of a commercial shoot.  The current-generation Sorento is one of the oldest cars in the Kia range, and the transformation is drastic. It receives a bolder, sharper look that falls in line with the company's current design language without copying its bigger or smaller siblings. Kia's design team has been on a roll in recent years, and the Sorento extends it. kia-sorento-teaser-24-1 View 2 Photos While our spies didn't get a look at the Sorento's interior, low-resolution spy shots published on Instagram confirm the transformation continues beneath the sheetmetal. The center console adopts a more rugged look characterized by brushed aluminum-like surfaces, and the infotainment system's touchscreen is now positioned on top of the dashboard instead of being embedded into it. We also expect to find nicer materials inside. What's between the fenders? Your guess is as good as ours, but Kia previously confirmed hybrid and plug-in hybrid models will join the range. Whether they'll be available at launch hasn't been made public yet. Additional information about the 2021 Kia Sorento will emerge in the coming weeks, and Autoblog will bring you live images of it straight from the show floor in Geneva on March 3. An American debut is likely scheduled for the New York Auto Show in April, and deliveries will begin shortly after. Pricing will start in the vicinity of $27,000. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Kia decides on Mexico plant location for small car assembly

Mexico has long been a hot spot for auto manufacturing, but the country's fortunes have been boosted lately, with Honda, Mazda and Nissan recently adding factories there, and BMW is said to be poised to join them soon. Now, new reports indicate that Kia might start building south of the border to keep up with demand.
Insiders speaking to Reuters claim that the Korean automaker is very close to striking a deal to build a factory for two small models in Monterrey, Mexico, with a 300,000-vehicle annual capacity. Assembly could reportedly begin as soon as 21 months after ground is broken.
If true, Kia has done a fantastic job of keeping the deal under wraps. The only hint at anything like this brewing was a rumor last year that Hyundai may have investigation building a factory in Mexico. The company currently operates a factory in Georgia that builds the Optima and Sorento.