Kia will ramp up EV3 output as demand for its affordable electric model surges
After charging up third-quarter sales, Kia plans to ramp up output of its new low-cost EV3 model. The compact electric SUV helped boost Kia’s EV sales numbers in the third quarter.
Kia sold 54,000 all-electric vehicles in Q3, up 8.3% from last year. The growth was primarily due to the new EV3 rolling out.
Despite higher EV demand, Kia’s overall global sales fell by 1.9% in the third quarter, with 763,393 vehicles sold. The company said reduced subsidies, a lack of popular compact cars in Europe, and sluggish sales in China, Russia, Central and South America led to fewer car sales.
Overseas sales grew in North America, India, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, but it was not enough to offset the weaker global demand.
Kia will boost sales of popular eco-friendly models (EVs and hybrids) to drive demand, including the Carnival HEV and Sorento HEV in the US and Korea.
In Europe, Kia aims to increase its eco-friendly car share to over 40% of total sales. Kia plans to sell over 9,000 EV3 models as demand for the affordable EV continues to grow.
Kia to increase EV3 output as demand builds
Kia expects sales in all major global markets to increase in the fourth quarter, with production at all factories back to normal.
The company plans to “overcome the decline in demand” in Korea by expanding its RV and eco-friendly car lineup. To help reverse the sales slump, Kia will focus on new models, including the EV3 and K8.
In the US and Europe, Kia will start full-scale sales of key new models, including the K4 and EV3, while expanding the availability of previously in-short supply models.
Kia opened EV3 pre-orders in its home market in June, starting at around $30,000 (KRW 42.08 million). The company already calls the low-cost EV a “game changer” in Korea.
| Kia EV3 trim | Range | Starting Price | Starting Price After Incentives |
| Standard | 217 mi (350 km) | $30,700 (KRW 42.08 million) | $29,200 (KRW 39.95 million) |
| Earth | Standard: 217 mi (350 km) Long Range: 311 mi (501 km) |
$33,400 (KRW 45.71 million) | N/A |
| GT Line | Standard: 217 mi (350 km) Long Range: 311 mi (501 km) |
$34,100 (KRW 46.66 million) | N/A |
| Long Range | 311 mi (501 km) | $34,100 (KRW 46.66 million) | $32,200 (KRW 44.15 million) |
The EV3 starts at roughly $40,000 in Europe. Based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, the mini electric SUV has a driving range of up to 375 miles (605 km) in Korea. In Europe, it’s rated with a WLTP range of up to 372 miles (599 km).
Kia sold 2,022 EV3 models in its home market in September, down from 4,002 in August. However, EV3 exports surged to 6,158 last month from 1,424 in August 2024.
Ahead of its North American debut, the EV3 has already been spotted testing on US streets (check out the images here).
According to TheKoreanCarBlog, Kia is expected to begin EV3 production in Mexico by the end of the year. It’s expected to make its North American debut in early 2025, with starting prices in the $30,000 to $35,000 range.
Would you buy Kia’s low-cost EV3 for around $30,000? Let us know in the comments below.
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James Murdoch, a Tesla board member and friend of CEO Elon Musk, has confirmed that he sold about $13 million in stock today as the stock (TSLA) crashed.
There has been a lot of insider trading at Tesla lately, and by trading, we mean selling – cause no insider is ever buying at Tesla.
We recently reported on Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav recently selling ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.
Tesla’s chairwoman, Robyn Denholm, also sold $33 million worth of Tesla shares last week and over $100 million in the last 3 months.
Now, it’s James Murdoch’s turn. The Tesla board member just confirmed, through a required SEC filing, that he sold 54,776 Tesla shares for just over $13 million today:
He sold as Tesla’s stock crashed 15% today. It is now down more than 50% from its all-time high just a few months ago.
Murdoch was appointed to Tesla’s board in 2017.
He is better known as the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the former CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019.
Murdoch was one of the Tesla board directors who was forced to return almost $1 billion in cash and stock options to Tesla as part of a settlement for over-compensation.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla insiders are unloading, and those are just the ones we know about. Public companies only have to report insider trading for board directors and listed top executives.
For the latter, Tesla purposefully only lists 3 people: Elon, Vaibhav Taneja, Tesla’s CFO, and Tom Zhu, whose role at Tesla has bit quite fluid in recent years.
Therefore, we don’t know about the dozens of other top executives potentially selling their shares right now amid a giant correction.
It’s really suspicious because there are clear top leaders at Tesla who are often on Tesla’s earnings calls, and they are not even listed, like Lars Moravy, for example.
But it’s par for the course at Tesla, which has some of the worst corporate governance I have ever seen. It’s truly shameful.
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Environment
Mercedes’ new electric people mover is coming soon: Here’s a sneak peek at the luxe EV van
The next generation of Mercedes-Benz luxury vans is almost here. Mercedes’ first luxury electric van, based on its new VAN.EA platform, is now in Arjeplog, Sweden, for winter testing. The new platform will serve as the base for upcoming VIP private vans, high-end limousines, luxury all-arounders, and much more.
What we know about Mercedes’ new luxury electric van
Mercedes is already a leading van maker, both for business and private use. Starting next year, all electric Mercedes’ vans will launch on its new Van Electric Architecture (VAN.EA).
After unveiling the platform almost two years ago, Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said “VAN.EA clearly underscores our aspiration to ‘Lead in Electric.” He explained that the purpose-built EV architecture supports both mid and large vans.
With a modular design, Mercedes can easily swap out sections to create a different design. The platform consists of three blocks, or modules.
The first block has the electric powertrain while the middle module determines the van’s dimensions. At the rear, the final module can add another electric motor, giving it AWD capabilities.
With 4MATIC AWD, Mercedes claims the new architecture significantly expands driving range and ensures the vans “meet the highest standards regardless of weather conditions.”
Although final specs will be revealed closer to launch, the electric vans will be based on an 800V platform, suggesting relatively fast charging speeds.
The luxury vans will also be loaded with Mercedes’ new operating system (MB.OS), it’s powerful new in-vehicle software that powers all functions like infotainment, autonomous driving, and more.
After the electric van began testing on public roads late last year, Mercedes said it was headed to Sweden for winter testing before its official debut next year.
Mercedes plans to launch several versions for private and business use. The VAN.EA-P is designed for those looking for a mobile office, family activity vehicle, etc., while the VAN.EA-C is for commercial use, such as courier, express, and parcel delivery vehicles. It can even support larger vehicles like campers or RVs.
Mercedes aims for 20% of van sales to be electric by the end of next year. By 2030, the luxury brand wants half of all van sales to be EV.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
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Environment
BlackRock’s Fink says Trump deportations will have severe impact on agriculture, construction
HOUSTON — BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said Monday that President Donald Trump‘s deportation policy will have a severe impact on the agriculture and construction sectors, which could lead to elevated inflation in the near term.
“I think that over the next six to nine months, we’re going to see a little more elevated inflation,” Fink said the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference. “I do believe deportations and the speed at which it is happening is going to have severe impacts on the agricultural sector and the construction sector.”
Fink said CEOs in the agriculture sector have told him that about 70% of the men and women who work in the industry were not born in the U.S. This raises the question of whether the U.S. will have enough labor to harvest the crops when spring arrives, Fink said.
“With the whole idea that we’re going to have to use private capital to build out this economy — are we going to have enough workers,” Fink asked. “I’ve even told members of the Trump team that we’re going to run out of electricians as we build out AI data centers — we just don’t have enough,” the CEO said.
This potential labor shortage will contribute to inflation, Fink said. Over the longer term, however, the U.S. could see “big deflation because of the advancement of AI and robots and how that’s going to reshape the economy,” the CEO said.
The deflationary pressure that the U.S. experienced over the past two decades was due in part to the importation of cheaper goods from overseas though this hurt U.S. workers, Fink said. The shift to rising nationalism around the world will have an impact on prices, he said.
“When I go to Washington, they talk about these policies,” Fink said. “I ask at what cost are you willing to tolerate that. “Yes, we may have opportunities to create better and more robust jobs, but then the offside of that will be, it will probably create a little more elevated inflation in the short run.”
Trump’s deportation policy is occurring at the same time the president is imposing tariffs on major U.S. trade partners. The president has slapped 20% tariffs on China. He has paused tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods that are compliant with the deal that governs trade in North America. But Trump is threatening what he calls “reciprocal tariffs” in April.
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