Spotted on the street in camouflage is the Kia EV2, the carmaker's compact, reasonably priced electric crossover. Despite the EV2's present lack of US confirmation, this is the model's first public sighting. With the recent reports that Tesla may have abandoned its intentions to produce a mass-market "Model 2" car for $25,000, the timing of the encounter is quite noteworthy. Elon Musk allegedly put the inexpensive EV on hold to focus entirely on the company's plans to develop a fully autonomous robotaxi.
The Kia EV2's exact price is unknown, but according to Electrek, it might cost 20 million won, or roughly $15,000. According to some estimates, it will cost less than $30,000, which is far less than the current average retail price of an EV, which is over $52,000.
Over the years, a number of electric vehicle manufacturers have pledged to produce affordable electric vehicles for the general public, but few have progressed beyond the idea stage. Due to high tariffs, none of the incredibly affordable EVs that Chinese automakers have introduced—like the BYD $11,500 Seagull—are available in the US. Volkswagen has declared its intention to launch the ID.2all, a $26,000 electric vehicle, at some point, while Ford has a skunkworks section that is actively developing a range of less expensive EVs.
Using their joint E-GMP platform, Kia and sister company Hyundai have launched a number of reasonably priced electric vehicles (EVs), including the Kia EV6 and EV9 and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6. Particularly popular in the US, Kia's EV6 can be considered a competitive substitute for Tesla's Model 3 and Y.
Those who require three rows of seating and wish to switch to electric vehicles are showing a lot of interest in Kia's EV9, which was introduced earlier this year. Later this year, Kia plans to release a cheap sedan with the EV4 and a smaller crossover SUV with the EV3. A smaller variant of the EV9, the EV5, has debuted in China in the meantime.
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