Kia will unveil its EV for mobility providers at CES 2024 in January.

The automobile is named the PBV, however the which means of that acronym has modified since Kia first introduced it. The automaker at first mentioned PBV stood for “Function-Constructed Car,” however has now redefined it—advertising and marketing or not—as “Platform Past Car.”

Kia introduced the PBV in April, and the way it will spawn a robotaxi plus automobiles specialised for ride-hailing and last-mile supply. The primary of those can be a midsize automobile inbuilt South Korea beginning in 2025.

Rendering of Kia Function Constructed Automobiles

The 2025 manufacturing date was talked about once more in a press launch saying the PBV’s CES debut. Keynote audio system can even focus on different future tech, together with “Straightforward Swap” and “Dynamic Hybrid modularization,” the discharge mentioned, with none clarification of what these issues is perhaps.

Business automobiles just like the PBV are an vital a part of Kia’s EV technique. Kia introduced in 2022 that it sees electrical vans as key merchandise for each mobility and autonomous automobile tech, that that can probably be an vital a part of this versatile lineup.

Kia Niro Plus – purpose-built electrical taxi

In its residence market, Kia has continued constructing the previous-generation Niro EV because the model’s first PBV for fleets or taxi operators, however the lineup launching at CES will really be the primary designed from scratch for no matter flexibility a particular activity or firm wants.

If Kia does look to the PBV lineup for a ride-hailing automobile, this would not be the primary time such a product has taken type. Arrival, for example, designed a automobile particularly for Uber. And the Origin, from GM’s troubled Cruise unit, seems farther forward to a driverless electrical future.