Kia Announces Launch of Entry-Level EV3 Electric Vehicle in Korea, Beats Tesla’s Model 2 Release Date

economy

Submitted2024.04.27 20:30
Edit2024.04.27 22:31

Kia announces “entry-level EV3 to launch in Korea in June”
Marketing begins, including the release of a teaser video
Released before Tesla’s entry-level Model 2

EV3 concept exterior / Photo = Kia Kia’s first EV3 entry-level electric vehicle will be unveiled in June. This is even before Tesla, which promised to launch a low-cost electric car with the promise of a ‘half-price electric car’. Considering the benefits of subsidies, the purchase price is expected to be around 30 million won.

According to the industry on the 27th, Kia released an EV3 teaser video on social network services (SNS). The EV3 teaser was included in the video of the popular Disney movie ‘Inside Out 2’. For this reason, there are speculations that EV3 will be officially released on June 14, the release date of Inside Out 2. Kia explained, “EV3 will begin mass domestic production in June,” and “the price will be revealed too -production. Group. It is an electric sports utility vehicle (SUV). It is also the third electric vehicle to apply E-GMP, after the EV6 and EV9.

Kia has announced that it will lead the way in popularizing electric vehicles by reducing the price of the EV3 compared to existing models. Online communities say they’ve seen an EV3 wearing camouflage, and some say it’s “about the size of a Seltos.” Kia’s compact SUV, Seltos, is 4390mm long, 1800mm wide, and has a wheelbase of 2630mm. The exact price is not known, but it can be determined from the information revealed by Kia.

Last year, Kia President Song Ho-seong announced Kia’s plans for a full range of electric vehicles and said, “We plan to release small and medium EV3, 4, and 5 models priced between $35,000 and $50,000.” Since 3 is the lowest in numbers, the price of EV3 will likely be around $35,000. It is around 48 million won, but if government and local subsidies are taken into account, the price is estimated to go down to the 30 million won EV3 concept interior / Photo = Kia Although there are electric vehicles on the market that cost less than 30 million won, such as the Ray EV, the EV3 is only for electric vehicles. Another point to watch is whether the competition for low-cost electric vehicles will begin in earnest, starting with the EV3. First, it’s reassuring that it will be released before Tesla’s entry-level electric vehicle is announced.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on the 23rd (local time) that production of low-cost electric vehicles will begin early next year. The industry speculates that the low-cost electric car that Musk mentioned is the ‘half-price electric car’ that Tesla has announced. Musk had previously said that he would release an electric car priced at $25,000 within three years in 2020. It is expected to be named ‘Model 2’.

The EV3 is expected to be released by not only Tesla but also Volkswagen, General Motors (GM), and Chevrolet. Volkswagen is expected to launch the ID·2, a small hatchback priced at around 30 million won, with the goal of mass production next year. It will be built based on the Volkswagen MEB electric vehicle platform. An industry official said, “At a time when electric vehicle sales are low, automakers are struggling to launch low-cost electric vehicles for popularity, and the key question is whether Kia can control hold on to the low-cost electric vehicle market with the EV3. “

Choi Soo-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naive@hankyung.com