Kia EV3 Concept could influence the second generation Seltos and the electric version of the Seltos in the coming years
At the Kia EV Day in Korea, the production-spec EV5 was accompanied by the EV3 SUV and EV4 sedan concepts. While Kia has the EV2 in the works, the EV3 and EV4 will arrive before it and the former will target a price range of USD 30,000 (around Rs. 25 lakh) in the global markets. Kia has endured tremendous success with the EV6 crossover and the recently unveiled EV9 has been well acclaimed as well.
The South Korean auto major is looking to create a diverse portfolio of electric cars and is targeting more entry-level models to increase its volume sales and they will play a crucial role in the brand reaching one million EV sales by 2026. A while ago, Kia confirmed that it is developing an electric RV for India for debut by the middle of this decade.
The Kia EV Day also emphasises on India as it will be one of the key markets where the future zero-emission vehicles will be produced and bespoke dealerships could be established as well. We told you recently that Kia India is considering the feasibility of localising the E-GMP dedicated skateboard architecture, which has spawned all modern Kia and Hyundai EVs lately.
In India, “Strategically designed EV models tailored for emerging markets will be produced”. Currently, Kia sells the fully imported EV6, which has seen good number of takers and an electrified SUV based on the Seltos could also be in the pipeline as all the mainstream manufacturers are aiming to make a big impact in that particular space with electric vehicles.
The Kia EV3, a more compact version of the EV9, and EV4, which will be pitted against the Tesla Model 3, will arrive as early as next year in the international markets. The former can be compared with the ICE Seltos in terms of its proportions and thus its design could influence the electric version of the Seltos by 2025.
It could compete against the upcoming Maruti Suzuki eVX, its Toyota iteration, Hyundai Creta EV, Tata Curvv EV and Mahindra’s XUV.e8 based on the XUV700 bound for 2024. The brand may use the design cues found in the EV3 concept in the second-generation ICE Seltos as well as its electric counterpart but no official confirmation has been made yet.