South Korean automaker Kia on Monday announced that it is set to launch in the Chinese electric vehicle market with plans to begin selling its first battery EV model, the EV6, via import in August. This will be followed by the the launch of the EV5 in November, a compact electric crossover set to be made locally in China, and the release of the larger, high-performance EV9 in 2024. Kia’s sales declined 40.5% year-on-year to around 94,000 units in China last year as domestic automakers gained momentum, and the Hyundai affiliate is aiming to sell 450,000 cars annually in the country in 2030, of which EVs are intended to account for 40%. [Kia release, in Chinese]
