Kia has announced a dedicated plant to produce battery-electric purpose-built vehicles (PBV). The company will invest around one trillion won (approximately $758 million) to secure 99,000 acres of land. With the company planning to start mass production in the second half of 2025, the plan is to produce 150,000 units in the first full year, with the potential to expand in line with future market conditions, a press release from the company noted.
The new PBV plant will be built as an eco-friendly plant that applies future innovative manufacturing technologies while minimising carbon emissions. It will also seek efficiency and intelligence with Hyundai Motor and Kia’s smart factory brand E-Forest technologies, such as digital manufacturing systems.
One of the innovative manufacturing processes to be implemented at the new PBV plant is known as the ‘cellular (or cell) method,’ which allows vehicle production based on diverse customer demands.
The cell method is a process layout strategy that groups machines or workstations to produce similar products or parts. The cell method aims to create a more efficient and flexible manufacturing process by reducing the distance that materials and products need to travel during production. Under the cell method, machines are arranged to optimise the flow of materials and products between workstations to minimise downtime, reduce costs, and increase productivity.
In addition, the PBV plant will be built as a low-carbon factory by operating a dry booth, a nature-friendly construction method, during the painting process of vehicle manufacturing, and reducing carbon emissions by about 20% compared to existing factories by utilising natural light and streamlining the manufacturing process.
The vehicle maker will also apply innovative technologies such as automation of facilities using machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), automation of painting quality inspection under the vehicle, automation of installation of parts such as glass, vehicle name, and company logo, and real-time automatic measurement quality data analysis to correct and install the vehicle body in real time autonomously.
The company noted that the facility will be ‘human-friendly’ with automation in heavy-duty work and tasks that require looking up at the ceiling while enhancing the feeling of ‘openness’ and reducing noise levels.
The company plans to show SW (project name), the first model in the company’s dedicated PBV lineup, in 2025. The model will be a mid-sized PBV based on the 'eS' platform, a dedicated skateboard platform for battery electric PBVs, enabling various types of vehicle bodies to be flexibly combined.
SW has been developed to respond to various business demands such as delivery, ride-hailing, and business-to-business (B2B) transactions thanks to its excellent load structure and spacious indoor space that reaches the height of an adult.
After launching the mid-sized SW PBV, the company plans to expand its product lineup to large-sized PBVs that can be used for logistics, fresh food delivery, multi-seat shuttles, and mobile offices and stores, as well as small-sized PBVs and mid-sized robotaxis applied with autonomous driving technology.
Ho Sung Song, President and CEO, Kia, noted that the focus is to enhance the competitiveness of the entire electric vehicle ecosystem, including research and development, production, and infrastructure, and to lead the way in driving change and innovation in the new global automotive industry.
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