Kia would be thinking of making a small electric car for the city very similar to the Citroen Ami presented in late February. The little Frenchwoman has aroused a lot of interest for her characteristics and for the possibility of being purchased at a very competitive price, even with a long-term rental formula. Speaking with Auto Express, COO (chief operating officer) of Kia Motors Europe, Emilio Herrera, stressed that after the pandemic, people want to feel safer by preferring to use private vehicles to move rather than take advantage of public transport.
Kia thinks of a small electric car
Kia is, therefore, studying a small electric city car to take advantage of this new orientation of people. It would be a mini-vehicle with limited autonomy but more than enough to be able to move safely in urban areas. The Korean manufacturer is also evaluating the category of quadricycles, to which Citroen Ami belongs because these vehicles could be a valid alternative to public transport, provided that they can be competitive on the economic front. This means that this model should be proposed with a flexible subscription or rental form.
The vehicle could share the new Hyundai platform which will be developed in concert with Canoo or uses an unpublished one. However, there are no precise deadlines for the project, but according to the source, the city car could be unveiled as early as 2021, as a concept, and then go into production in 2022. On paper, the project seems interesting, especially seeing how mobility is evolving urban. In fact, more and more manufacturers are turning their attention to battery-powered microcars for city centres. Certainly, more will be known over the next few months.
