Kia officially opened its first production hub dedicated to building electric vans. Once fully operational, Kia’s Hwaseong EVO Plant will be about the size of 42 soccer fields.
Kia opens new production hub for PBV electric vans
The dedicated production facility was first announced in 2022 as part of Kia’s new Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business strategy.
Kia’s PBV plant is a cornerstone of its plans to become a leader in the light commercial electric van market by 2030.
On Friday, Kia took a big step by opening the first phase of its production hub. Kia announced on November 14 that it has now officially completed the Hwaseong EVO Plant East portion and broke ground on the EVO Plant West site.
A completion ceremony was held at Kia’s Autoland Hwaseong plant, attended by around 200 guests, including South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Hyundai Motor Executive Chairman Euisun Chung.
The new EVO Plant East is a 98,433 square-meter site with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. Kia will build the PV5, its first electric van, including the Passenger, Cargo, Chassis Cab, and Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) models.
The EVO Plant West spans 136,671 square meters and will add 150,000 units of Kia’s upcoming larger PBV vans, including the PV7.
Kia also operates a dedicated PBV conversion center, where it builds custom models based on the PV5, including open-bed trucks, camper vans, and box vehicles.
Combined, the entire PBV Production hub will have an annual capacity of 250,000 units, spanning over 303,750 square meters, or about the size of 42 soccer fields.
Kia is already delivering the PV5 Passenger and Cargo variants in South Korea and Europe, with plans to continue rolling it out to new markets over the next few months.
Last month, the PV5 Cargo set a new Guinness World Record for the greatest distance travelled by a light-duty battery-powered electric van with maximum payload.
In Europe, the PV5 Passenger is available with two battery packs: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh, delivering WLTP ranges of 183 miles and 256 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery pack options, but is rated with WLTP ranges of 184 miles and 258 miles.
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