Kia Niro EV to launch later this year

[JejuSoul]

Today was the official launch of the N iro Hybrid.
The base of this car is identical to the I oniq.
Hence an EV and a PHEV are expected soon.
We got a sort of confirmation of that here - http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2016/03/388_201427.html

An official added that Kia Motors is also expected to launch an electric-only model later this year.

 

[tractioninc]

That's pretty cool. I really like my Soul, but now that I have a household of five I would appreciate the extra utility of a car like this.

 

[Ptrs]

I was hoping they would bring out an Optima EV but the Niro would be even better. Now only if it could have a 200 mile range similar to the Blot or grater I would stay with KIA when our Soul EV lease is up.

 

[JejuSoul]

I was hoping they would bring out an O ptima EV ...

The O ptima PHEV has been released at the Busan Autoshow - http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/06/03/2016060301418.html
Seems to be the same 9.8kWh LG Chem battery as the S onata PHEV - https://www.cars.com/articles/2016-hyundai-sonata-plug-in-good-for-27-miles-of-electric-range-1420682700232/

The I oniq PHEV will be released later this year followed by the N iro PHEV - http://english.etnews.com/20160602200001
It seems likely these 2 PHEVs may also have the same 9.8kWh LG Chem battery. - http://insideevs.com/hyundai-estimates-electric-range-for-ioniq-phev-at-32-miles-ioniq-bev-at-155-miles/

And for another mention of the N iro EV see - http://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2016031615365322226&vgb=autom
roughly translated - "N iro EV to be launched early next year in Korea."
and
"To increase EV market share Kia needs more EVs than just the Soul EV"
also this link - http://www.etnews.com/20160617000529
Again "N iro EV to be launched early next year in Korea." and it will have the same 88kW motor and same 28kWh LG Chem battery as the I oniq EV.

The S onata PHEV, O ptima PHEV, I oniq PHEV and N iro PHEV may well all use the same 9.8kWh LG Chem battery.
There is a post on kia-world.net that suggest the Niro EV will use the same 28kWh LG Chem battery as the Ioniq EV. We shall soon see.

Update - here is some info about the timing of the N iro Hybrid and PHEV's global release.
The PHEV is released May 2017 in Korea, June 2017 in Europe and China, September 2017 in USA

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Sales figures of hybrid cars in Korea for June 2016
N iro Hybrid (3246), Grandeur Hybrid (1055), S onata Hybrid (766), I oniq Hybrid (630), K5 Hybrid (415), K7 Hybrid (103).
That the I oniq Hybrid is widely seen as a failure is not going to help sales of the I oniq EV.
On the other hand things are looking up for the N iro.

Note the June figure for the I oniq includes both the hybrid and the EV
Sorry not possible. these numbers must be just for the hybrid.

Two months later - sales of the I oniq hybrid continue to drop.

 

[JejuSoul]

Kia N iro Hybrid was at the Paris Motor Show.
There's a really nice video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLmbUFi9Nfg

 

[JejuSoul]

The I oniq PHEV and the N iro PHEV will have an 8.9 kWh battery. A new smaller battery pack.

see - http://www.zdnet.co.kr/news/news_view.asp?artice_id=20161025123928 for more details

 

[tractioninc]

The Niro will be released here in the US beginning in January, so initial reviews are starting to appear in the automotive press:

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/12/20/2017-kia-niro-hybrid-first-drive-review/
http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/auto/2017-kia-niro/preview/

I think this will be a great product, combining the practicality of a Prius with crossover/SUV styling that is so popular these days. The interior is much nicer than a Prius, too. Prices are rumored to start at about $24,000, which is 1/3 less than the price of a Soul EV in this market.

 

[JejuSoul]

Latest rumour for the N iro EV is that it will be launched in June 2017.
There is also rumoured to be a Hyundai Creta EV just afterwards.
Nothing about any upgrades to the Soul EV. - see http://www.newspim.com/news/view/20161207000289

 

[wrickcook]

I didn't see anything about the battery size.

I REALLY hope they release something with around a 60kWh battery in the next 2 years.

 

[JejuSoul]

I didn't see anything about the battery size.
I REALLY hope they release something with around a 60kWh battery in the next 2 years.

That is REALLY unlikely in either of the two cars above. The N iro EV is built on the same platform as the I oniq EV. Possibly 42kWh if we're lucky. The Creta is Hyundai's low cost ICE SUV currently for sale in India, Russia and China. It sells really well because it is cheap. It is REALLY, REALLY unlikely that they would put an expensive 60kWh battery inside. They are talking about 200 miles range so maybe this will be a 48kWh. I doubt it though.

 

[JejuSoul]

This article Hyundai Motor Company to Release SUV Electric Vehicle in 2018
suggests that Hyundai will release a 64kWh SUV next year. So perhaps my comments above were wrong.

But the car in the picture is not a Hyundai EV. It is a Kia N iro PHEV.

 

[SmoothJ]

This article Hyundai Motor Company to Release SUV Electric Vehicle in 2018
suggests that Hyundai will release a 64kWh SUV next year. So perhaps my comments above were wrong.

But the car in the picture is not a Hyundai EV. It is a Kia Niro PHEV.

Either someone got it wrong, or it will share the same DNA (like Ford did to Lincoln, or a joint venture like Toyota GT 86/Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ). The R&D involved is quite extreme and expensive for a BEV, so to keep costs down, it may have been done like that. We will see as time gets closer or it might be reviled at the NYIAT (or some time during the year).

 

[SoulEV2016]

suggests that Hyundai will release a 64kWh SUV next year.

seem logic, they already have the tucson base and the 94Ah (1 cell-SDI Samsung) is already available for a 60kWh pack (96S2P pack) at 384kg.

 

[JejuSoul]

I am not saying Hyundai isn't working on an EV SUV. I am saying that the picture on the latest article is not a Hyundai.
Hyundai is working on an EV SUV. The internal code for it's size is B-SUV. That is sub-compact.
That is smaller than the Tucson (C-SUV) which is in the compact class.
Other sub-compact SUV crossovers are the Kia Soul, the Kia N iro, and the Hyundai Creta. (Update: Now called Hyundai Kona)

The title of the thread 'Kia N iro EV to launch later this year' was for 2016. It didn't appear. Let's hope the title is correct for 2017.

 

[JejuSoul]

-
Seems we have to wait until May 2018 for both the N iro EV and the new Hyundai EV.
Both will have 200 mile range = 322km.

The N iro PHEV however will be released on March 16th this year. - details in Korean here - http://www.edaily.co.kr/news/NewsRead.edy?SCD=JC11&newsid=01676086615798376
Interesting timing for this release
The B o l t EV is due to be released in Korea on March 17th.
I doubt it is a coincidence that Kia chose the day before.

 

[JejuSoul]

Michael Cole, chief operating officer of Kia Motors Europe, confirmed to Dutch outlet AutoRAI that a Kia N iro EV will launch next year as a 2018 model. https://autorai.nl/kia-niro-electric-2018/

Another unconfirmed rumour is that the new Creta EV from Hyundai is going to be called the Kona.

More substantial is the fact that the list of cars to be shown at the PR Show for the Jeju EV EXPO on March 17th does not include either the N iro or the Kona. It does include a new version of the Soul EV.

 

[SoulEV2016]

My problem is this ... with gamma range corrected.

 

[SmoothJ]

My problem is this ... with gamma range corrected.

LOL... nice catch. it will look the same though....minus the tail pipe of course.

 

[JejuSoul]

No. It's not the PHEV.
There's a much easier way to see than playing with gamma layers.

 

[SoulEV2016]