Kia and The Ocean Cleanup Present New EV3 Trunk Liner

Keeping things eco-friendly, the Kia Corporation isn’t just making battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) to lower carbon emission pollution. The automaker is also focused on environments and ecosystems beyond its consumer products. One large problem the world has is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean, mainly consisting of microplastics, plastic bottles, and nets. In an effort to clean things up a bit, Kia has developed the world’s first car accessory made strictly from plastic extracted from the GPGP by The Ocean Cleanup.

“As the first genuine Kia accessory made using reclaimed ocean plastic, we are proud to see tangible progress made toward creating a circular resource system for ocean plastic. We will leverage the lessons learned during the recycling and product development process to continue to manufacture useful and beneficial products for our customers using ocean plastic retrieved and provided by The Ocean Cleanup.” – Charles Ryu, Executive Vice President and Head of the Global Brand & CX Division, Kia

It always comes back to Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy. Their new model lineup is designed to blend features of nature and mechanical engineering together. For instance, their latest models, the Kia EV3 and EV4 take inspiration from different elements. The Kia EV3 is based on air, and focuses on light and transparency to create a more atmospheric feel for the cabin. As if the dashboard is floating, a stunning 3D effect of the cabin and center console are the first things consumers may notice. The EV4 focuses on the element of earth, using natural dyes made of madder roots and walnut shells, and applying it to 100-percent recycled cotton for the upholstery.

The Ocean Cleanup organization is responsible for extracting plastic from the ocean, and partnered up with Kia to find new and innovative ways to transform plastic waste from the GPGP into durable, practical products. Because the plastic extracted varies, anything caught is first put into sorting, recycling, and processing to make sure the plastic the automaker utilizes meets Kia’s strict quality standards. After all, when introducing a limited-edition trunk liner for the all-new Kia EV3, it would be a heartbreak if the plastic wore down or didn’t hold up after a few months.

This is all a part of Kia’s promise to raise its recycled plastic application in vehicles to more than 20 percent by the end of the decade (2030). It’s unclear if the new plastic trunk liner will be available in America, set to be available in selected markets. Regardless, this is the latest development from the seven-year partnership between Kia and The Ocean Cleanup. It all started in 2022, and since then they’ve worked together to find new ways to repurpose plastic extracted, like the trunk liner.

Using sustainable materials in the new EV3 and EV4 models is actually a method that started several years ago. Designing vehicles with sustainability in mind started with the Kia EV9 all-electric SUV. That’s right – Kia used 10 must-have sustainability items when designing the EV9, including Bioplastic, Recycled PET fabric, and others. Want to feel good about the environment when driving around town? Find a new BEV at Miami Lakes Automall, and look out for this new EV3 trunk liner by following us on Miami Lakes Automall social media.

Photo Source/Copyright: Kia Media