Kia To Introduce All-Electric Niro In 2018

Kia will be bringing an all-electric version of the Niro to market in 2018, going by recent comments from the chief operating officer of Kia Motors Europe, Michael Cole.

Along with that revelation, made in an interview with the Netherlands-based news source AutoRAI, Cole also noted that the model would utilize the same powertrain that the new 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric uses (Hyundai and Kia are sister companies).

As a reminder, the first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Kia Niro is expected to hit some markets relatively soon (before the end of the year in most of Europe and in the US), so the release of the all-electric version will be following that.

Green Car Reports provides more:

“The all-electric Niro, meanwhile, will use the same 28-kilowatt-hour battery pack and 88-kilowatt (120-horsepower) electric motor driving the front wheels.

“Electric range for the Ioniq Electric on the NEDC cycle are 280 kilometers (174 miles), though the EPA rates its range at 124 miles combined. …

“With the Niro being taller and heavier than the Ioniq, the range of a Niro EV might well be lower than the Ioniq Electric’s 124 miles, perhaps closer to 110 or 115 miles.”

It should be remembered here, though, that Hyundai execs have publicly revealed that future model years of the Ioniq Electric will have higher ranges (and larger battery packs) in order to remain competitive.

So, presumably, the all-electric Kia Niro will also be upgraded in order to keep up with market trends. Whether that applies to the 2018 model year or not, though, isn’t clear yet.

Pricing is still an open question as well. If pricing for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric is taken as a proxy, though, then it will likely be fairly “low.”