On October 12, Kia's Kia EV Day was officially held in South Korea. At the event, Kia not only reaffirmed its ambitious global strategy to lead and accelerate the "electric vehicle revolution", but also unveiled the all-new Kia EV5, Kia EV3 Concept, and Kia EV4 Concept.
A seemingly ordinary press conference revealed Kia's "ambitions" that were different from the past. Realistically speaking, in recent years, the entire automobile market is not peaceful, on the one hand, the energy revolution is intensifying, more and more "spoilers" to join, virtually intensified the competition in the automobile market; on the other hand, the emergence of new cars has changed the way of using cars in the past, people's consumption concepts have also changed, followed by more diversified consumer demand.
Because of this, in the eyes of many people, in the new automobile era, the most important thing for traditional car companies to stabilize the fundamentals in the market and enhance competitiveness is to maintain sufficient brand "freshness", which includes not only the "freshness" of products, but also the "freshness" of technology and the "freshness" of strategy.
This is why Kia was able to win enough market awareness at this "Kia EV Day".
| “狠下”内饰功夫，引领设计“新”变革
What is the biggest challenge for the current automotive industry? This question that has traversed the automotive industry for more than 100 years seems to be a cliché, but when you think about it, the answer is very vague, and it needs to be re-examined today. The "New Four Modernizations" have replaced the past, and safety, energy saving, and environmental protection have become new technical themes, which requires car companies to break the traditional "old" thinking and embrace "new" changes, including design. At Kia's "Kia EV Day", Kia also wanted to show its new thinking at the design level - the concept of sustainability throughout.
Moving on to the interior of the Kia EV3 Concept, the Kia CMF (Color, Materials, Craftsmanship) design team drew inspiration from the air element, using light and transparency throughout the cabin to the extreme. For the seats, the CMF team replaced carbon fiber with a natural fiber structure to achieve a lighter, slimmer seat design. The extremely strong sustainable fibre weave, complemented by soothing natural tones, creates a more elegant, modern aesthetic.
As for the seat cover process, the CMF team chose to apply 3D knitting technology, which is incredibly soft and at the same time visually creates a stunning 3D effect, while the design with reduced stitching and splicing further achieves first-class efficiency and zero material waste. It is important to note that the materials used by Kia for the center console of the EV3 Concept are not industrially manufactured, but cultivated.
For the EV4 Concept, the Kia CMF team drew inspiration from the earth element. 100% recycled cotton, all-natural dye, madder root and walnut shells are nature's bounty, allowing the team to experiment with almost limitless shades and shades. To create a pure, one-of-a-kind atmosphere and unrivalled texture in the cabin of the EV4 Concept, Kia hand-woven fabric stripes were applied to the storage space and dashboard. In addition, Kia's CMF designers specifically selected hemp fiber for the center console of the EV4 Concept to enhance its aesthetic appeal and functionality.
Of course, Kia is not "on a whim" when it comes to sustainability, as early as 2014, Kia used bioplastics and sugarcane biofibers in its Soul electric models. In March, Kia unveiled its flagship electric SUV, the EV9, with the "10 essential sustainable materials" that will be used in all new Kia models in the future, further underscoring Kia's commitment to minimising the environmental impact of vehicle production.
Sustainable development is not a simple slogan, but also requires enterprises to come up with the "real knife" innovative spirit and "solid" materials as support, "real effort" is the most difficult, but also the most impressive to consumers. With the intensification of the energy transition in the automotive industry, new automobiles have also ushered in the second half of comprehensive development. In this fierce competition, simple "concept" and "innovation" are no longer enough to impress consumers, we need the leader of the times, but also need to break the old and create the new, and Kia is leading the "new" change in interior design through its own understanding.
| “EVs for all”——起亚的独特价值
What is a new car? In the eyes of Global Automobile, answering this question is not an easy task. The difficulty lies in the fact that "new" is a dynamic concept. Just like many people often have the word "user" on their lips now, in fact, the user he understands is much worse than the reality. The new car is defined by the user, but it is also the fastest and most efficient integration of new technologies.
At the event, Kia fully interpreted the vision of "EVs for all", and had already introduced two pure electric models, the EV6 and EV9, to the market, and achieved a good market response, which also showed the outside world Kia's determination to transform as a world car giant. However, for Kia to further establish its position as the leader of the industry as a whole, these two models alone are clearly not enough.
Because of this, the EV5, EV3 and EV4 concepts officially came to the "front of the stage" at this event, representing Kia's thinking on pure electric vehicles from different fields. The EV5 is the third dedicated battery electric vehicle in Kia's EV lineup, built on Kia's EV-specific platform E-GMP, ushering in a new era of electric mobility and unique SUV design. The Kia EV5 features the brand's unique "Opposites United" design concept, which combines exceptional versatility and comfort with advanced technology, dynamic performance and safety.
And the EV3 Concept represents Kia's vision for a compact electric CUV, effortlessly blending practicality with pure driving pleasure. The model offers the technology, functionality and design of Kia's flagship SUV, the EV9, in a compact and convenient build, while the EV4 Concept embodies the core element of the "Power to Progress" design philosophy of "Opposites United". "Power to Progress" focuses on Kia's skills, expertise and creativity developed in an era of design-led transformation.
From the perspective of the layout of the three models, the EV5 is designed to meet the needs and expectations of millennial families, the EV3 concept car presents the technology, practicality and design of the flagship SUV in the form of a compact car, and the EV4 concept car redefines the electric sedan, which meets the different fantasies of different groups of people for pure electric models.
In terms of EV production, Kia is currently working to build a reliable EV production and battery supply system, and plans to increase its global EV production base to eight by 2025. At the same time, Kia is actively establishing battery joint ventures to ensure a stable global battery supply system that is in sync with the global EV production network.
"As a provider of sustainable mobility solutions, Kia's transition to electric vehicles is inevitable, not an option. By developing advanced EV technology, employing bold designs and delivering intuitive services, and applying them across our EV portfolio, our ultimate goal is to make Kia's unique value available to as many people as possible. This is where the process of accelerating electrification begins. ”
In the era of new energy vehicles, the value of products is not the length of mileage, nor the number of radars, but the value-added innovation and emotional experience of automotive products, which requires car companies to pay more attention to consumer demands in the process of continuous "innovation" in order to meet more diversified car needs. Constantly improving the layout of pure electric products and actively innovating in different dimensions is also Kia's attitude.
Conclusion: Wu Yingqiu, Chairman and CEO of Huanqiu Automobile Group, once said that "new automobiles" will become the vane of the development of the automobile industry and a new business that needs to be built "from scratch". The "newness" of the new car lies in the new concept, the new method logic, and the new system. Only car companies with the characteristics of new automobiles are likely to have a leading position in the wave of development in the future era. It is foreseeable that in the new round of "fierce war", under the market pattern of seeking "new" and "changing", Kia has shown its "new" side to the outside world, and looks forward to its further market performance!