Kia eyes even cheaper $22K entry-level EV and new brand-building Stinger GT-like model
Kia wants to change the game with a series of cheaper EVs set to hit the market. Several are already rolling out, like the new EV3, but Kia aims to lower the bar further with a new entry-level EV, starting around $22,200 (€20,000). On the other end of its EV lineup, Kia is eyeing a new Stinger GT-like model.
We got our first glimpse into Kia’s electrifying future during its first annual EV Day last October. Kia revealed several new low-cost concepts, including the EV3, EV4, and EV5.
Kia is already calling the EV3 a “game-changer” as it rolls out to new markets. After opening EV3 pre-orders in Korea starting at just $30,700 (KRW 42.08 million) in June, Kia’s compact electric SUV secured over 10,000 reservations in 23 days.
Last month, Kia opened EV3 orders in the UK. Starting at $42,300 (£32,995), Kia deemed it the “brand’s most adorable EV yet.”
Based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform with its fourth-gen batteries (81.3 kWh), the EV3 offers up to 372 miles (600 km) WLTP range. In Korea, it gets up to 311 miles (501 km) driving range.
Next year, Kia will follow it up with the EV4 hitting the market. The EV4 is Kia’s take on an electric sedan. It’s expected to start at around $35,000 to $40,000.
Although these prices are already below or on par with a comparable gas-powered model, Kia plans to lower the threshold with even cheaper EVs set to join the lineup.
Kia targets cheaper EVs with new segments
Kia has already confirmed that it will launch an EV2 model, priced around $30,000, within the next three years. However, the brand is eyeing an even lower-priced model.
CEO Ho-Sung Song told Autocar during an EV3 test drive that Kia wants to launch an entry-level EV priced around $22,200 (€20,000).
Kia trademarked the names EV1 through EV9, opening up the possibility for cheaper EVs following the EV3. Song said the entry-level EV was the brand’s “next, next target” as it looks to lower the threshold for driving electric.
According to Song, an EV priced below €20,000 would not be likely until after 2030. As new battery and EV powertrain tech emerge, Kia plans to continue lowering the price tag.
The EV3 starts at around €35,000 ($39,000) in Europe, while Kia’s EV2 is expected to start below €30,000 ($33,400).
“Our next target is an EV model starting from €30,000,” Song said. Yet Kia still believes “we need sub-€25,000 in our EV cars, and maybe we can leverage around €20,000,” Song explained. That “cannot happen in the next two years,” Kia’s CEO added.
Kia is also considering a brand-building electric car, like the Stinger GT, to top off the other end of the lineup.
“What kind of model can help build the brand? This is what we are now studying,” Song said. While more incentives are needed, Song explained, “most OEMs are trying our best to reduce the cost of EVs” in the meantime.
Song also confirmed that Kia is developing solid-state batteries that look “in every aspect quite better” than current EV battery tech. However, Kia’s CEO did not say when the company would put electric cars with solid-state batteries on the road.
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Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
We recently reported that an early Tesla Semi customer, Ryder, stated that the electric truck program is experiencing more delays and a price increase described as “dramatic.”
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
Read more: Thomas Built Buses debuts its next-gen electric school bus
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