December 14, 2023 - Kia has accelerated its transformation into a provider of sustainable mobility solutions. For three years “Kia Charge” has been the overall European umbrella of all charging activities for Kia Europe. New further developments of Kia Charge mark a concrete step in the realization of the brand's ambition to be the number #1 Electric Mobility brand in Europe. Kia Charge is the result of Kia's “Plan S strategy”, in which the brand brings a wide line-up of electric passenger cars, like the 2022 Car of the Year the EV6 or the all-new EV9 and other commercial vehicles in record time to the market and makes electric driving accessible to a broad audience with a wide range of innovative services and technologies.
With Kia Charge, the brand already offers charging solution on the go, through Public Charging. Kia Netherlands is a pilot market to further develop Kia Charge by adding services for customers like solar panels, SmartCharging (V1G to upcoming V2G/V2H) and green energy provider.
Kia Netherlands is now taking a step further by rolling out a new pilot project which will include additional innovative services to Dutch customers, with the aim of making electric driving even easier and making the most of EVs to contribute to a stable and efficient energy network. To achieve maximum impact nationally, the Dutch Kia Charge offering has powered up with the first collaboration between an international energy supplier and a world leading mobility provider, which is also focused on finding solutions to the major challenges of the energy transition, such as grid congestion. By entering into a strategic partnerships with Vattenfall, Jedlix and other partners, Kia Netherlands is able to provide customers with additional products and services related to an electric car.
The ultimate goal of the pilot project is to enrich the existing Kia Charge package. Thanks to the new local partnership and national infrastructure, in cooperation with Kia's R&D center in South Korea and Kia Connect in Frankfurt, Germany, an additional three products and services: Solar Panels, Energy by Vattenfall and Smart Charging will further complete the Kia Charge offer. This is a world-class example of true customer service by a mobility concerned automotive brand. The all-new Kia EV9 with bi-directional technology is enabling V2G (Vehicle to Grid) and V2H (Vehicle to Home), this supports the customer charging experience all-round above and beyond the car by improving the daily charging experience and relieving grid congestion. Many other models will follow in due course, including the recently unveiled EV3 Concept, EV4 Concept and the EV5.
On December 12, Cindy Kroon, CCO of Vattenfall Netherlands and Léan Verstoep President & CEO of Kia Netherlands put their signatures to the promising partnership. In addition to the expansion of the range of products and services, Kia Netherlands will now offer energy contracts with green electricity exclusively, which will be especially beneficial for consumers with variable or dynamic contracts. Fitting the innovative nature, energy contracts will be able to be extended to include the installation of the additional products (e.g. solar panels), allowing users to generate their own energy and save on energy costs through smart charging. From January 1, 2024, service partner “Road” also joins Kia Charge in managing both public and private charging stations and forms an integral part with the bi-directional charger and Kia Smart Charging service in cooperation with Jedlix for V1G (Unidirectional Smart Charging) and upcoming V2G (Vehicle to Grid), V2H (Vehicle to Home).
The new Kia Smart Charge application supports users to charge intelligently, allowing them to benefit from cheaper charging during off-peak hours, among other benefits. The app is effectively the link between the car and the energy supplier and aims to prevent grid congestion and makes more efficient use of cleaner energy.
“Kia is a leading brand in sustainable mobility solutions that already offers convenient charging services through the current Kia Charge offer. Kia Netherlands is a pilot market for testing new solutions and services to optimize the customer experience” stated Sjoerd Knipping Vice President Product and Marketing at Kia Europe.
Promoter of electric driving
An essential part of Kia's strategy is to offer a wide variety of electric models, and their sustainable production and recycling. Kia has made significant progress in this area and is now among the largest providers of electric cars on the market. Kia electrified line-up covers innovative technologies from the MHEV to full EV models including PHEV powertrains. New models such like EV6 and EV9 use the pioneering E-GMP platform and its 800V advanced technology. Kia aims to sell 1.6 million all-electric cars worldwide by 2030, becoming one of the world's leading EV manufacturers.
