Kia aims to boost sales with improved tech and designs. To help its transition, Kia is bringing on former longtime Mercedes-Benz and BMW designers.
Kia brings on ex-Mercedes, BMW designers amid EV shift
Kia announced Tuesday that it has hired senior chief designers Oliver Samson and Seungmo Lim as head of its Europe and China Design Centers.
The move is effective April 1st. With extensive experience at some of the biggest auto brands, including Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Kia aims to strengthen its design team amid its shift to EVs.
Samson and Lin will lead their teams to develop the next generation of Kia designs, concepts, materials, and models. Their work will support Kia’s main design hub in Korea, where designs are taken from plans to concepts.
After starting his career at Hyundai and Kia’s European design center, Oliver Samson is returning to the brand. Samson spent over a decade with the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design team while more recently holding positions at NIO and Changan.
Kia EV9 (Source: Kia)
Lim is arriving with over a decade of experience with BMW’s Munich design team. Most recently serving as vice head of innovative design at Geely (Volvo, Polestar parent company), Lim will help the brand transition to EVs in China.
Kia is transforming the brand amid its shift to a sustainable mobility solutions provider, including a new design and slogan.
Kia EV lineup from left to right: EV6, EV4, EV5, EV3, EV9 (Source: Kia)
You can see the brand’s new “Opposites United” design theme in the new all-electric EV6 and EV9. Kia is also planning to release a series of low-cost EVs, starting with the EV3 later this year, with expected prices around $30,000. The EV4 will follow next year, starting at around $35,000, as Kia looks to boost its presence as the market transitions to electric.
The new electric vehicles are part of Kia’s wide-ranging EV lineup priced between $30,000 and $80,000.
Kia’s first three-row electric SUV, the EV9, is finding success with over 2,700 models sold in the US in the first two months of the year.
Kia EV9 Trim
MSRP (including $1,495 destination fee)
EPA Est. Range (miles)
Light RWD
$56,395
230
Light Long Range RWD
$60,695
304
Wind e-AWD
$65,395
280
Land e-AWD
$71,395
280
GT-Line e-AWD
$73,900
270
2024 Kia EV9 trim prices and range
The EV9 starts at $54,900, but the high-performance GT-line will cost you upwards of $74,000. With more second-row legroom than the Cadillac Escalade and more headroom than the Tesla Model X, Kia’s EV9 provides plenty of interior space.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
Democratic senators on Monday blamed the White House push to fast track artificial intelligence data centers and its attacks on renewable energy for rising electricity prices in certain parts of the U.S.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and others demanded that the White House and Commerce Department detail what actions they have taken to shield consumers from the impact of massive data centers in a letter sent Monday.
Voters are increasingly feeling the pinch of rising electricity prices. Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger campaigned on the issue in the New Jersey and Virgina governors’ races, which they won in landslides last week.
The senators took aim at the White House’s relationship with companies like Meta, Alphabet, Oracle, and OpenAI, and the support the administration has shown for the companies’ data center plans.
The Trump administration “has already failed to prevent those new data centers from driving up electricity prices from a surge of new commercial demand,” the senators wrote. They accused the White House of making the problem worse by opposing the expansion of solar and wind power.
The White House blamed the Biden administration and its renewable energy policies for driving up electricity prices in a statement.
President Donald Trump “declared an energy emergency to reverse four years of Biden’s disastrous policies, accelerate large-scale grid infrastructure projects, and expedite the expansion of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power generation,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
The tech sector’s AI plans have ballooned in size. OpenAI and Nvidia, for example, struck a deal in September to build 10 gigawatts of data centers to train and run AI applications. This is equivalent to New York City’s peak baseline summer demand in 2024.
The scale of these plans have raised questions about whether enough power is available to meet the demand and who will pay for the new generation that is needed. Renewable energy, particularly solar and energy storage, is the power source that can be deployed the quickest right now to meet demand.
Retail electricity prices in the U.S. increased about 6% on average through August 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. Prices, however, can vary widely by region.
Germany is about to become home to Europe’s largest battery storage system – a massive 1 gigawatt (GW) / 4 gigawatt-hour (GWh) project in Jänschwalde, Brandenburg.
LEAG Clean Power GmbH and Fluence Energy GmbH, a subsidiary of US-based Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC), are teaming up to build the “GigaBattery Jänschwalde 1000.” The four-hour system will use Fluence’s Smartstack technology, its latest large-scale energy storage solution.
Once complete, Europe’s largest battery storage project will play a key role in stabilizing Germany’s grid and storing renewable power for when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. It’s designed to deliver essential grid services, support energy trading, and boost energy security as the country phases out fossil fuels.
LEAG’s broader “GigawattFactory” plan combines solar and wind farms with flexible power plants and large-scale batteries across Germany’s Lusatian energy region. “By constructing gigascale storage facilities, we’re addressing one of the biggest challenges of the energy transition: ensuring constant power regardless of the availability of renewable energies,” said Adi Roesch, CEO of the LEAG Group.
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Fluence CEO Julian Nebreda described the project as a “milestone for the energy future of Germany and Europe,” adding that it demonstrates how collaboration and cutting-edge technology can “transform the foundation of our economy and our everyday lives.”
The German government recently reaffirmed the importance of storage in building a secure and affordable clean power system. With this 4 GWh giant, LEAG and Fluence are implementing that priority in one of Europe’s most coal-heavy regions.
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The GV90 will be the brand’s largest, most luxurious SUV yet. With its official debut coming up, a production version of the Genesis GV90 was spotted in public for the first time, offering a closer look at the stunning SUV.
The Genesis GV90 is a stunning flagship SUV
Genesis vehicles already have a unique design that’s hard to miss. The big Creste Grille, Two-Line Quad Lamps, and smooth character lines offer a refined, luxurious look, but Genesis is planning to take it to the next level with the GV90.
The GV90 is an “ultra-luxe, state-of-the-art SUV,” according to Genesis. It will be the luxury brand’s new flagship vehicle and first full-size electric SUV.
We got our first look at the flagship SUV last March after Genesis unveiled the Neolun concept at the New York Auto Show.
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The GV90 has been spotted out in public several times now, even flashing high-end features like coach doors and adaptive air suspension, but now, we are finally getting our first look at the production version in real life.
Genesis Neolun ultra-luxury electric SUV concept (Source: Genesis)
A new video from HealerTV shows the production version of the Genesis GV90 in action. Although it’s still covered in camo, you can see a few slight design changes from the concept shown last year.
The headlights and grille appear closer in design to its current vehicles, but other than that, the GV90 looks essentially the same up front as the Neolun concept.
Since it’s still covered, it’s hard to see where the headlights are connected at this point. From the side and rear, the GV90 looks identical to the concept.
Genesis has yet to announce an official launch date, but the GV90 could debut by the end of the year with sales expected to kick off in mid-2026.
Genesis Neolum electric SUV concept interior (Source: Hyundai Motor)
The flagship SUV is rumoured to be the first vehicle to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform, which it claims will “provide 50% improvement in driving range” compared to its current EVs. It will also serve as a tech beacon, featuring Hyundai’s most advanced connectivity and safety tech.
We will learn official prices and final specs soon, but one thing is for sure: it won’t be cheap. The Genesis GV90 is expected to start at around $100,000, but higher trims could cost significantly more with added features and options.
Genesis is also introducing its first hybrid, the GV80, next year, followed by its first extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) based on the GV70. The EREV is expected to launch in late 2026 or early 2027. There’s also an off-road SUV in the works, which will likely arrive as a 2027 model.
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