Kia India to invest ₹2,000 crore in Indian EV market over next four years

Seoul-based auto maker Kia says that it will invest ₹2,000 crore over the next four years in India to increase its presence in the electric vehicle segment. Speaking at Auto Expo 2023, a senior company official said that the firm plans to invest the capital on various elements like manufacturing and infrastructure development for EVs over the next few years.

Kia currently sells a single battery electric model in the country. It plans to introduce a locally manufactured product in India 2025. The company has previously announced its plans to drive in 14 battery electric models globally by 2027.

Speaking to news agency PTI, Kia India VP and Head-Sales & Marketing Hardeep Singh Brar said the company's Andhra Pradesh-based manufacturing plant is ready to roll out EVs.

"This ₹2,000 crore we are talking about will go into R&D, manufacturing and infrastructure development," he said. The planned investment, he said is close to one third of the total capital (over USD 1 billion) the South Korean automaker has deployed on its manufacturing set up in the country.

When asked about the kind of electric models the company plans to roll out, he said: "We (Kia) have already announced globally that we will be investing USD 22 billion to come up with 14 battery electric vehicles and obviously we will be looking at some of these products for the India market as well."

"The certainty is for one of the EVs which is going to be the mass market EV and will be made grounds up specifically for the Indian market. It will be launched in 2025. So, that is one EV which is certain as of now and as I said we are exploring more out of the portfolio which globally we are going to have by 2027," he further added.

The company also announced its entry into the purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) segment, addressing the unmet need of specialised institutions. At the ongoing motor show, Kia showcased a police van and an ambulance based on its model Carens. The automaker also unveiled an all-electric SUV Concept – the Kia Concept EV9 and Kia KA4 at the auto expo event.

"We feel there is a big market for purpose built vehicles and we (Kia globally) aim to be global leaders in this particular segment by 2030," Brar said.

"With the launch of EV6, we started our electrification journey in India and today, with the unveiling of the concept EV9, we are presenting our vision of the future. With KA4, we want to showcase our might in the popular UV segment," Kia India Managing Director & CEO Tae-Jin Park noted.