Besides making headlines about the wisdom, or lack thereof, of ending federal rebates on EVs in the U.S., Kia is setting its sights on doubling the range its plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) can run on while in electric mode.
With affordability and finding chargers remaining among the main hurdles to full EV adoption, drivers this year have increasingly turned to PHEVs, which can function in regular hybrid gas/electric mode, or in full electric mode. The issue for the latter, however, is that range has so far remained limited.
Currently, electric-range performing PHEVs in the U.S., such as the Toyota Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime deliver up to 42 and 45 miles of electric range respectively.
As for Kia models, they are closer to the PHEV average: The Kia EX and Kia Sportage PHEVs deliver 33 and 34 miles respectively.
But that’s about to change, according to Kia America COO Steven Center:
The magic number to reach is 60 miles, which Kia models will deliver in “a couple years”, Center told Green Car Reports, on the sideline of the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The boost in range is expected to come from continued improvement in battery capacity, as well as upcoming vehicle platforms, Center says.
As for the 60-mile figure Kia is aiming for, it’s derived from data on the total daily-driving distance averages for Americans, including daily driving and road trips.
A number of manufacturers already offer PHEVs delivering much more than 60 miles of electric range. However, these are mostly available in Europe and tend to be on the pricier side: Think Mercedes’s Version E300e Urban edition, which delivers 67 miles for a price of roughly $80,000; or the Range Rover PHEV, with 73 miles for a hefty $145,000.
Center did not identify which PHEV models would first benefit from Kia’s 60-mile range capacity.
But clues might come from the automaker’s shift in strategy earlier this year: Kia wants to not only offer more hybrids, but also more affordable models in its 2025 line-up: The 2025 Kia Niro Hybrid starts at $28,365, while the PHEV model starts at $35,865, with an electric range of around 33 miles.