I recently reported on Hyundai and Kia’s recent success in winning awards for their EVs. Now, Kia has added some more feathers to its cap.
The first is the Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business strategy, where Kia unveiled 5 concept EVs at CES 2024, earning “Top Tech of CES 2024” award from Digital Trends. “Kia has been one of the most influential companies in terms of the transition to EVs. The PBV Concept shows it’s ready to also take a fresh step into a futuristic vision of what vehicles can be,” commended Digital Trends. The PBV Concept is admired for its modular and easy-to-build layouts, external informational displays, and incorporation of accessibility features.
One of the concept EVs from the PBV rollout, the PV5, also won the “Best Car” award from The Verge at CES 2024. “Alongside the Concept PV1 and Concept PV7, Kia presented several different variants, including Basic, Van, High Roof, and Chassis Cab,” according to Kia. “Thanks to Kia’s ‘Easy Swap’ technology, a range of body modules can be quickly and simply interchanged on the PV5 chassis cab to repurpose the vehicle to suit customers’ needs.”
Kia made a strong comeback at CES after a five-year hiatus, with Hyundai Motor Group presenting its biggest overall presentation ever.
Outside of CES, the Kia EV9 recently won the Good Design Award in the Transportation category, with its ‘Ki’ infotainment system winning in the Interactive Media category. These accolades add to the EV9’s growing list of awards, reflecting Kia’s dedication to emotive and engaging design expressed through its ‘Opposites United’ philosophy. The EV6 was the first model to come out of that “Opposites United” philosophy. Kia aims to expand its lineup with 15 fully electric models by 2027 based on this framework.
Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ philosophy in action in the EV9 is marked by simple, clear-cut lines and surfaces that exude confidence, clarity, and calmness. The vehicle aims to harmonize the agility of an EV with the robustness of an SUV and increase space utilization with a sleek profile. The rugged yet refined exterior design incorporates the visual symbolism of polygons and triangles.
Kia’s EV design philosophy aims to communicate purity, practicality, and safety within the EV9. The Executive Vice President and Head of Kia Global Design stated, “This is in keeping with Kia’s overarching design philosophy, which seeks to empower users to make the most of their lives.”
As for the infotainment award, the EV9’s system is designed to be intuitive and readable with a panoramic display-optimized UI configuration, making it easier for users to recognize signal transitions and contextualize charging and discharging information.
Kia is preparing a Super Bowl ad for 2024 to boost demand for its EVs, featuring the EV9. In addition to highlighting the EV9, Kia also proudly mentions the vehicle’s award-winning status and plans to assemble the EV9 in the US later this year.
It’s clear that Kia’s EV lineup, especially the EV9, is making waves in the industry and racking up more awards. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from Kia.
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