Kia Futuron concept based road-going electric crossover could soon follow the launch of the Kia CV, which is scheduled for next year
Hyundai Motor Group will often test its upcoming vehicles in its homeland of South Korea before their global debut and now a mystery prototype has been caught on camera. Taking a crossover body style, it should not be confused with the Genesis JW electric version as the signature design philosophy of the Korean luxury brand could not be seen with a crest grille.
Since the Hyundai 45 EV is already testing on roads, the test mule of the new crossover has to be something different. The possible options would be the road-going version of the Imagine by Kia concept or the Futuron. Late last year, the Futuron made its global debut in China as an all-wheel-drive SUV coupé that is said to preview the brand’s design language for future electric vehicles.
The Futuron name is a portmanteau of ‘future’ and ‘on’ and Kia said it “hints at the switched-on, electric nature of future SUV designs”. Kia revealed its EV strategy a few months ago under the ‘Plan S’ theme as it is aiming to offer 11 EVs by 2025, targeting a 6.6 per cent global EV market share. The first dedicated zero-emission vehicle was confirmed to launch next year.
Kia is looking to reach 25 per cent share of its sales from eco-friendly vehicles by end of 2025 and the global annual sales target stands at five lakh EVs and one million eco-friendly vehicles by 2026. What has been codenamed Kia CV will kick start the proceedings and is based on a new EV architecture with driving range of more than 500 km and fast charging time of under 20 minutes.
It will go on sale in Europe in 2021. While it was expected to be derived from Imagine by Kia concept, the test mule indicates that the Futuron based EV won’t be far away either. The Coupe SUV gave birth to the new front fascia with a futuristic form of the signature Tiger Nose grille and face. The test mule has a large greenhouse hinting at a spacious interior.
It also has wide track and coupe-like roofline with a muscular rear end and pronounced tailgate structure. We will hopefully get to know more about it when the test mules evolves and the overall design elements remain similar to the Futuron concept. But the multi-spoke black wheels show that the concept’s design has certainly been toned down and it will be interesting to see how the front end looks.
