In addition to making headlines over whether or not it is wise to eliminate federal electric vehicle rebates in the U.S., Kia is also aiming to double the range of its plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) in electric mode.
With affordability and finding chargers still the biggest hurdles to full electric vehicle adoption, drivers this year have increasingly turned to PHEVs that can operate in regular hybrid gas/electric mode or all-electric mode. The problem with the latter, however, is that the range has so far been limited.
Currently, electric range PHEVs in the US, such as the Toyota Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime, offer electric range of up to 42 and 45 miles, respectively.
The Kia models are closer to the PHEV average: the Kia EX and Kia Sportage PHEVs achieve 33 and 34 miles, respectively.
However, according to Kia America COO Steven Center, that's about to change.
The magic number to hit is 60 miles, which Kia models will cover in “a few years,” Center told Green Car Reports on the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
According to the center, the increase in range is due to a continuous improvement in battery capacity and upcoming vehicle platforms.
Kia's 60-mile target is derived from data on Americans' average total daily driving distance, including daily car trips and road trips.
A number of manufacturers already offer PHEVs that offer an electric range of well over 60 miles. However, these are mainly available in Europe and tend to be more expensive: consider the Mercedes version E300e Urban Edition, which covers 67 miles for a price of around $80,000; or the Range Rover PHEV with 73 miles for a cool $145,000.
The center has not identified which PHEV models would benefit first from Kia's 60-mile range capacity.
However, clues could come from the automaker's change of strategy at the beginning of the year: Kia wants to offer not only more hybrids in its 2025 model range, but also cheaper models: The Kia Niro Hybrid 2025 starts at $28,365, while the PHEV model at $35,865 starts an electric range of around 33 miles.
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