December 01, 2024

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Kia’s first pupose-built vehicle PV5 (Kia)

Hyundai Motor Company’s smaller sibling Kia is poised to enter Japan’s purpose-built vehicle market, a tricky segment already crowded with Japanese rivals.

Kia said Tuesday it joined hands with Japan-based trading company Sojitz to launch its PV5 van, the carmaker's first PBV model built on an electric vehicle platform, in Japan in 2026.

The car's Japanese debut hopes to benefit from the country’s net-zero goals. Currently, Japan offers hefty incentives to EV buyers to make battery-powered cars take up 30 percent of total car sales by 2030.

In a move to lure Japanese drivers, Kia said the PV5 adopted the CHAdeMO, a fast-charging system widely used there. It will also install a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system, which allows vehicles to share data through wireless connectivity.

The company also looks to launch the larger PV7 in Japan in the coming years.

Kia stressed its EVO Plant, a PBV manufacturing facility in Gyeonggi Province, will carry out a rigorous quality management and predelivery inspection based on an automated and digital system.

Starting mass production next year, the EVO Plant boasts a flexible manufacturing system -- a method designed to produce various car models on the same assembly line. Its annual capacity is expected to be 150,000 units.

“Joining hands with a major company in Japan, we hope the PV5 can boost Kia’s brand awareness and sales in the tough Japanese market,” said a Kia official.

Industry insiders say Kia has been struggling to find a footing in the country where customers are highly loyal to national brands, such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan. The carmaker does not disclose the annual sales volume there because it is practically non-existent.

“Although the Japanese effectively shun foreign car brands, Kia might have a window of opportunity in the EV van sector since Toyota and others are more focused on producing hybrid cars,” said Kim Pil-su, a car engineering professor at Daelim University.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)