The Kia Soul EV currently falls into
the category of a compliance car, that is an alternatively powered car that is
sold by a company in a limited market to allow said company to carry on selling
more traditionally powered cars.
Kia has always had plans to expand
the reach of the Kia Soul EV
by selling it in states other than California when it comes to the U.S. Now
these plans may be being accelerated due to the success of the Soul EV in the
Californian market.
Speaking
to AutoBlogGreen, Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning at Kia Motors America,
said: “We went back to the factory and told them it’s doing very well and it’s
now expanded beyond an EV, it’s something bigger.
“When
we looked at it originally, we were trying to go beyond the compliance part. We
understood, of course, that we had to do it, but we wanted to showcase
something that was really strong for us, which is the Soul, and we
thought it would help build out the Soul family and bring more people to see us
and that’s exactly what’s happening. It was a little more than compliance but I
think we were kind of shocked how well it was received. It’s been a huge hit.”
It’s a
good position to be in but not an easy one. Ramping up production of cars isn’t
as simple as turning the assembly line up to 11. Supply chains, workers and
base materials all need to be scaled up too, not to mention shipping from South
Korea to the intended new markets.
Kia says its Soul EV
has what it takes to stay efficient -- and keep you warm -- even in cold
weather. So why isn't it sold in more places?
Speaking
to Charged, Steve Kosowsk EV Project Manager for Kia, said: “As soon as we can
get the supply, we’re going to start selling the car outside of California.
What we don’t want to do is starve our California dealers after they’ve already
invested in chargers and tools and training. The Soul EV is the first electric
car we’ve sold outside of Korea. So, we want to make sure that the quality is
there, that the suppliers and the distributors and the dealers and everybody in
the whole chain is ready and there are no problems.”
The
company hopes to have an announcement about opening up sales to more markets
and the ramping up of its production in time for the New York Auto Show that
starts in April.
The Kia Soul EV has an EPA rated
range of 93 miles which it achieves from a 27kWh lithium-ion polymer battery
pack. It gained a four-star ratting in the Euro NCAP testing and even beat the
Tesla Motors Model S in the passenger protection category.
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