Kia is introducing its new fully customizable Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, aiming to go “beyond mobility.” This exciting announcement comes with the unveiling of Kia’s Concept PV5, showcasing the potential of its new PBV business for businesses and individuals.
While many other legacy automakers are scaling back their EV strategies, Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia, remains committed to driving electric mobility forward across multiple sectors.
Kia’s BEV models have seen early success despite being a relatively small lineup as the company transitions into a fully electric enterprise. With R&D efforts also directed towards robotics and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Kia and Hyundai Motor Group continue to evolve and explore new technologies.
At CES 2024, Kia announced its “blank slate” new platform to support commercial and individual businesses – the Platform Beyond Vehicle.
With its new Platform Beyond Vehicle technology, Kia seeks to tap into a commercial segment that has swallowed up several startups unable to make an impact. Kia’s fit-for-purpose EVs cater to business owners as part of Hyundai Motor Group’s ambition to revolutionize the mobility industry. Combined with HMG’s software-to-everything (SDx) technology, Kia’s PBV EVs provide a new design exercise in modular, customizable space suitable for a taxi, mobile boutique, cargo van, or recreational vehicle. Kia’s president and CEO Ho Sung Song expressed this vision:
Kia’s PBV business represents our vision of going beyond the traditional concept of automobiles by fulfilling the unmet needs of diverse customers and communities through optimized vehicles and services catering to specific market and business circumstances.
Kia’s new technology enables one vehicle chassis to fulfill multiple purposes, with interchangeable upper bodies called “life modules.” These “top hat” structures come in kit form and are connected to the base vehicle via a hybrid electromagnetic and mechanical coupling technology, offering versatility thanks to their swappable nature.
Kia also outlined the roadmap of its Platform Beyond Vehicle Strategy, which includes three phases of expansion. The PV5 EV will be optimized for major domains such as ride-hailing, delivery, and utilities, with plans for future Robotaxi versions developed with Motional.
The PV5 will be joined by the PV7, the largest platform offering in Kia’s new lineup, and the P1V designed for short-distance logistics transportation. Kia will also introduce an integrated rail system allowing EVs to transfer goods using cabinets and frames.
Concepts showcasing the new Platform Beyond Vehicle technology will be displayed at CES, including a look at Concept PV5 and its variants, along with the Concept PV7 and Concept PV1. The company’s second exhibit will feature the Concept EV3 and Concept EV4, as well as the EV6 GT and EV9 production models.
If you’re at CES, look out for Electrek and say hello!
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