Kia India to invest Rs 2,000 cr to boost EV biz

NEW DELHI: Automaker Kia India plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore over the next four years to scale up its presence in the electric vehicle segment, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

The South Korean firm plans to invest capital on various elements like manufacturing and infrastructure development for

EVs over the next few years. It currently sells a single-battery electric model in the country and has plans to introduce a locally manufactured product in 2025.

Globally, Kia has already announced plans to drive in 14 battery-electric models by 2027.

On the sidelines of the Auto Expo, Kia India VP and head-sales & marketing Hardeep Singh Brar said the company’s Andhra Pradesh-based manufacturing plant is ready to roll out EVs.

“This Rs 2,000 crore we are talking about will go into R&D, manufacturing and infrastructure development,” he noted.

The planned investment is close to one-third of the total capital (over $1 billion) the South Korean automaker has deployed on its manufacturing set-up in the country, he added.

When asked about the kind of electric models the company plans to roll out, he said: “We (Kia) have already announced globally that we will be investing USD 22 billion to come up with 14 battery electric vehicles and obviously we will be looking at some of these products for the India market as well.”