Kia has begun volume production of its new all-electric Soul EV for export sales. A landmark in Kia’s history, the zero-emissions Soul EV is Kia’s first electric vehicle to be marketed by the company outside Korea.

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 initially planned to reach 5,000 units.

“Although it is Kia’s first globally-sold all-electric vehicle, the Soul EV is our second-generation battery electric vehicle and benefits significantly from our in-depth experience gained from development of the Ray EV and proven daily operations of the Ray EV fleet in Korea for the past three years,” commented Thomas Oh, Executive Vice President and COO, Kia.

Maintaining the same design language of the second-generation Soul, that went on sale in the UK in April, the Soul EV features a 192-cell 27 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack. Kia says 132 miles of the Soul EV’s drive range is now certified for Europe.

Power comes from an 108 bhp electric motor, producing 210 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels via a single speed constant ratio gear reduction unit.

Acceleration to 62 mph is predicted to take 11.2 seconds, while top speed is in the region of 90 mph.

While the battery pack is mounted beneath the cabin, charging is accomplished by plugging the car into any standard household electricity supply. Recharging times are up to five hours for a fully depleted battery using a 6.6 kW AC slow charger. Kia claims an 80 per cent charge can be achieved in around 25 minutes with a 100 kW charger or 33 minutes using a 50 kW DC charger.

The new Soul EV has also achieved the world automotive industry’s first UL Environment Validation for containing 23,942 grams of bio-based plastic and 10 per cent bio-based organic carbon content. Recyclable interior materials include Bio Plastic, Bio Foam, Bio Fabric and Bio PET Felt, together with newly developed antibacterial materials and paint.

The Soul EV will go on sale in the UK from late 2014.

Source: Kia

Tags: Bio Fabric, Bio Plastic, electric car, Gwangju, Kia, manufacturing, Ray EV, Soul EV, Thomas Oh, UL Environment Validation