World Exclusive: Kia Seltos EV (Kia Seltos Electric) confirmed, to debut this year
The Kia Seltos EV has only been a rumour so far. Now, IndianAutosBlog.com has got hands on an internal document that confirms the existence of this model in the company’s new product pipeline.
The Kia Seltos (Kia KX3) has been a big hit in India. Given its hype and all the buzz around the EV revolution in the country, the Kia Seltos EV is a highly anticipated upcoming electric SUV. Unfortunately, there’s no plan to launch it in India at the moment. It will debut in China and is planned only for that market currently. It will likely be launched as the next-gen Kia KX3 EV there.
The current-gen Kia KX3 EV is sold with a 45.2 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack as standard. This battery pack offers a range of 300 km. Using the energy stored in it, an electric motor generates 111 PS of maximum power and 285 Nm of maximum torque. The top speed is 150 km/h, while the energy consumption rating is 16.4 kWh/100 km.
The next-gen Kia KX3 EV (Kia Seltos EV) is rumoured to be offered in standard-range and long-range variants just like the Hyundai Kona EV, and that too in the same battery and motor specifications.
The standard-range Hyundai Kona EV has a 39.2 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack. Its electric motor produces 136 PS of maximum power and 395 Nm of maximum torque. The range (WLTP) and the efficiency rating are 312 km and 13.9 kWh/100 km respectively. The long-range Hyundai Kona EV uses a 64.2 kWh Lithium-ion battery instead. Its electric motor is tuned to generate 204 PS of maximum power and 395 Nm of maximum torque. The range (WLTP) and the efficiency rating are 482 km and 14.3 kWh/100 km respectively.
A possibility is that the standard-range next-gen Kia KX3 EV will come with the same battery pack and electric motor as the Hyundai Elantra EV instead of the standard-range Hyundai Kona EV's units. The China-only pure electric sedan has a 56.5 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack. Its electric motor generates 184 PS of maximum power and 310 Nm of maximum torque. The range of this car is 490 km. Its energy consumption rating is 12.7 kWh/100 km.
Also Read: Kia Soul being “seriously” considered for launch in India
Reports say that the production of the Kia Seltos EV will begin in August and that there's a plan to manufacture 10,000 units of it annually. In India, there’s no plan to launch any Kia EV at the moment, not just the Kia Seltos EV. We will get the Kia Sonet in August and then a Kia compact MPV in 2021. Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Kia updates and other four-wheeler news.