Report: Kia’s Soul EV to come in 2014, will be the brand’s first EV sold outside South Korea

Automobile Magazine via Kia-World reports that the Hyundai-owned South Korean automaker is still on track with launching its first electric car that will be available outside the South Korean Domestic Market. The new EV will take form as a variant of the popular Soul subcompact crossover.

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The new Kia Soul EV will be equipped with a more powerful version of the Kia Ray EV’s 50-kW electric motor powered by a 16.4-kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The Ray EV was good for a total range of 86 miles. That said, considering the supposed promise of more power, you could probably expect a small increase to that figure as well.

So far, the rumor mill suggests that the Kia Soul EV will travel 124 miles before needing a recharge from empty. 60 is said to zoom by in less than 12 seconds, versus the Ray EV’s 16.

Competitors are expected to be the Chevrolet Spark EV, the Fiat 500e, the new Nissan Leaf, the Ford Focus Electric, and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Prices are estimated to hover around $35,000.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: Kia-World via Automobile