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Kia Soul EV starts production next month amidst modest sales projections

The hamsters in those Kia Soul commercials? Looks like they'll be riding real quiet and quite clean a little sooner than we thought. Kia is now saying it will start production of the 2015 Soul EV next month, and sales will start later this year in the company's home country of South Korea. Additionally, according to Reuters, Kia is keeping sales expectations low, suggesting it should sell about 5,000 Soul EVs a year at a price of around $39,000, though the out-of-pocket costs should be cut in half because of South Korean government subsidies. Kia's taking a somewhat conservative approach to its early sales target as it focuses largely on the US and Europe during its first phase, said Kia spokesman Michael Choo. "We are currently conducting launch feasibility studies for the secondary phase of Soul EV introduction and plan to expand sales to other countries at a later stage," he said. "Hence, we believe the sales volume of the Soul EV will steadily grow following our initial full year of sales." As for the US, Kia spokesman James Hope tells AutoblogGreen that while the company hasn't set a definitive debut date, "we are targeting Q3 of this year." Hope says Kia isn't providing Soul EV sales guidance for the US, so we'll just have to see where the EV chips fall come September or so. Reuters also notes that sister company Hyundai will start selling its own battery-electric vehicle in 2016, a timetable confirmed by Hyundai Senior Vice President Lee Ki-sang. Both Kia and Hyundai are shooting for a South Korean electric-vehicle market that they hope will expand exponentially from a total of just 713 sales last year. The front-wheel-drive Soul EV will have a 81-kilowatt electric motor, and its single-charge range will be about 120 miles. The model was first shown off at the Chicago Auto Show last month, but Autoblog scored an early prototype test drive ahead of the reveal – check out our feature drive report here. Kia Motors shows Soul EV and next-generation hybrid powertrain at Geneva Show (SEOUL) March 4, 2014 -- The new Kia Soul EV made its European debut at the 84th Salon International de l'Automobile in Geneva, Switzerland, today alongside a special technology exhibit of the brand's next-generation hybrid powertrain.

Kia's Imagine concept is a high-riding, electric sedan

Kia released teaser images of its Geneva-bound concept car late last month. The one detail that stayed with us the most was the fact that the futuristic dashboard consisted of 21 small screens side by side. Kia was in on the joke, calling it a "humorous riposte" to the industry's obsession with implementing screens. But the rest of the concept car, shown today, is no joke. The ' Imagine by Kia' concept is a swoopily shaped, somewhat muscular, high-riding, all-electric sedan with suicide doors, which might or might not introduce some interesting new design themes for future Kias. There's a new logo, which is far more stylish than the existing one, and the front features a LED DRL arrangement that frames the headlights like the car wore stylish glasses. It's a bit like the Saab 9-5 "Dame Edna" facelift, but far better realized, and the "Tiger Mask" Kia front end treatment has been developed further. The roof and the windscreen are a single piece of glass, in the style of the Tesla Model 3, and the Imagine also features a frunk in addition to the trunk. But the concept is far taller than the Model 3 and more aggressively shaped, riding on 22-inch alloy wheels with acrylic glass inserts and with bespoke Goodyear tires and featuring sharp strakes on the curvy bodywork. The paintwork is said to consist of six hand-applied layers of chrome-effect paint with a bronze tint on top. And about those tires: they themselves are a Goodyear concept, called IntelliGrip, which means they detect and convey road conditions to the car and driver and adjust handling attributes accordingly. Related Video:

What a strike in Korea could mean for US Hyundai and Kia buyers

A prolonged factory strike at Hyundai-Kia factories in South Korea could mean that US dealership inventory of certain vehicles, such as the South Korea-built Hyundai Accent and Kia Soul, could dry up in the coming months, depending on the length of the strike, reports Cars.com's blog, Kicking Tires. The two brands together rank sixth in US sales and fifth in global sales.
Kicking Tires gives fascinating insight into how a production stoppage in South Korea might affect vehicle sales in the US, considering Hyundai-Kia has two factories in the US that build the Kia Sorento and Optima/Optima Hybrid, and the Hyundai Elantra sedan/coupe/GT, Sonata/Sonata Hybrid and Santa Fe/Santa Fe Sport. The only one of these vehicles that's built solely in the US is the Kia Sorento, with the rest of them sharing production with South Korea.
Be sure to read the piece, especially if you're in the market for a Hyundai or Kia, or just interested in global economics.