Kia plans mass production of all-electric car in South Korea

Kia Motors Corp. announced plans to launch the first mass produced all-electric car in South Korea in 2013. The announcement promises to fill the gap in the country’s hybrid sector because the government has not given it enough support through infrastructure and subsidies. The company said it will roll out 2,500 units of the Ray pure electric mini-car in 2012 for use by government agencies. The Kia Ray EV travels up to 139 kilometers on a single charge. Hyundai Motor Co., which owns 34% of Kia Motors produces the BlueOn, a pure electric car, exclusively for government agencies under a pilot program. The South Korean government also announced that it will offer tax exemptions of up to KRW4.2 million (US$3,630) for every purchase of Kia’s Ray EV and Renault Samsung Motors Corp.’s all-electric car, SM3ZE. But Kia said that more infrastructure support from the government is necessary because there are only 500 charging stations. The government said it plans to increase the number of charging stations to 3,100 by the end of 2012. (December 22, 2011)