The automaker wants to be a leader in sustainable mobility with the help of these vehicles
These EVs will range from small pod vehicles up to cargo vans and shuttles
Kia says these vehicles will be prime candidates for autonomous driving systems
Kia announced it will introduce a fleet of commercial EVs, which it calls Purpose Built Vehicles (PBV), by 2025 in order to provide businesses with electric vehicles.
The automaker says these vehicles will range from very small, pod-type cars up to large cargo vans and shuttles that will be able to carry large numbers of passengers.
Since these vehicles are intended to be used only in commercial operations, they are a prime candidate for testing autonomous driving technologies.
Indeed, Kia says the second model to be introduced will be an autonomous micro-EV that will be used for small scale deliveries, for example delivering purchases from local stores to the customers.
Before that however, the very first Kia PBV will be a mid-sized model called SW, which will likely need to be driven by someone. This model, along with all of the other planned PBVs, will be built on the eS platform, which is a skateboard type chassis and battery unit that can easily be scaled up or down to accommodate different sizes of vehicles.
In an image released by the automaker, it is apparent that all of the PBVs will share a similar design theme and all of them will be very boxy minivans. This makes sense since a box on wheels allows for a much more efficient use of space than a sleeker vehicle and styling is not usually a priority when it comes to commercial vehicles.
Since they will be capable of receiving Over-the-Air updated, the Kia PBVs will be kept up to date with the advancements in autonomous driving technologies without having to return to a dealer, which minimises their downtime and makes them more profitable.
