Kia Signs Agreement with Kakao Mobility to Develop New PBVs for Ride-Hailing
In April 2022, Kia revealed its new Niro Plus concept, the first purpose-built vehicle (PBV) to be designed by the automaker. Working towards an all-electric lineup as a Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider, Kia has plans to deploy its first dedicated PBV model in 2025, starting with a general model and zero-emission taxi in Korea. Designed to keep up with the demands of modern-day car-hailing, the Kia Corporation needs to shake some hands and sign some contracts. Working with Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s leading mobility as a service (MaaS) platform service company, the Kia Corp announced a new collaboration between the two to develop PBVs optimized for ride-hailing and new mobility services.
“We are confident that the collaboration will create the optimum synergies through Kia’s mobility technologies, including our leadership in PBVs, and Kakao Mobility’s expertise in software and platforms…These synergies can create new value in the mobility service market and further accelerate Kia’s rapid transformation to a sustainable mobility solutions provider.” – Kia President and CEO Ho Sung Song
Working with an already established mobility service will give Kia the upper hand in the current ride-hailing market competition. Able to scan through the operation data of vehicles used within the Kakao Mobility’s ride-hailing services, Kia can develop PBVs to meet the specific requirements of Kakao as a ride-hailing vehicle. Designing and developing PBVs for Kakao Mobility aren’t the only goals of this new collaboration.
The two companies are also working on specialized services linking software and vehicle data collected from Kia PBVs. Featuring interaction between in-vehicle-infotainment and the software platform of Kakao Mobility, PBV models are expected to evolve the mobility service market. Today, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft have drivers using their own cars to give people a lift to their destination, but what if there were vehicles designed to be highly personalized for numerous types of consumers. Passengers could search for a car based on their current needs, and not just their party size – nothing like a minivan when you have a lot of groceries to get home.
Kia’s first dedicated PBV, the Niro Plus, will come in two variants. There will be a general version of the Niro Plus for private owners, which can also be used as a car-hailing service amongst many business and recreational purposes. Then there is the dedicated Niro Plus taxi model designed for Korean taxi operators. Based on the Niro EV, the Niro Plus taxi has been modified to offer greater cabin space and additional passenger safety and convenience features to heighten the feeling of a modern taxi. For taxi operators, navigation, an app taximeter, digital tachograph, and voice recognition will also be featured. Such features are expected to make the transition into the PBVs built by Kia for Kakao Mobility.
Kia is all ready to meet the demands for production, with a new facility planned to start production in the latter half of 2025. Called the “E-FOREST”, Kia designed a new factory strictly for PBV production. With an initial capacity of 150,000 units for the first full year, the automaker shouldn’t have a problem producing the new PBVs for Kakao Mobility’s ride-hailing services. In two years, PBVs are expected to be the new consumer and market trend, and this new collaboration can turn out to be fruitful for both companies.
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