Kia, one of the leading automakers in the world, announced that it aims to reach KRW 160 trillion, which is $122 billion in gross revenue, by 2030.
This information was disclosed at Kia’s 2023 CEO Investor Day held on Tuesday.
Kia also stated that the goal is part of a larger strategy called “Plan S,” which launches in 2020 and features new branding. Furthermore, a large investment in electrification strategies was unveiled at this meeting, with 45% of that money dedicated to future business areas.
The funds should help Kia nudge its output up over the next few years. Kia updated its global sales goal of 4 million units by 2030 to 4.3 million units and its annual EV sales goal of 1.2 million units to 1.6 million units by 2030. That’ll be quite the ramp from where Kia is today. The company is targeting 258,000 EV sales by 2023 and 1 million units by 2026, which will be 8% and 25% of all Kia sales, respectively. By next year, the company said it will begin operating its first dedicated EV factory at Gwangmyeong.
Kia also said it will release 15 new EV models by 2027, which is one more model than the company had promised last year. One of those models is expected to be a purpose-built mid-sized SUV, which Kia is aiming to launch by 2025. Kia didn’t say for what purpose it’s being built.
The Korean automaker recently revealed the newest EV in its portfolio, the EV9 SUV, which is packed with tech and will go on sale in selected markets in the second half of the year.
All of Kia’s upcoming vehicles will be tech-focused, the company said. By 2025, Kia said all new models will be connected to the company’s “connected car data cloud,” which should enable over-the-air updates and allow customers to personalize their vehicles.
The company is also promising to focus on its brand of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), AutoMode, which is debuting on the EV9. Kia is pushing its ADAS one step further with HDP (Highway Driving Pilot), which it describes as a Level 3 autonomous driving technology “that does not require human steering wheel control for certain road sections, such as highways,” and will also debut with the EV9 this year.
As part of its autonomy roadmap, Kia said by next year, the company plans to use OTA updates to bring drivers more “eye-off” or hands-free functions, and in 2026, it’ll release HDP2 that uses “high precision navigation.”
