Kia will officially launch its cheaper, smaller EV2 in January 2026

Published

4 hours ago

January 31, 2025

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It’s official. Kia has now confirmed plans to launch the EV2 next January. The electric SUV will be an even smaller, more affordable model to sit below the EV3.

Kia confirms EV2 will launch in January 2026

Kia is on an EV launch spree. After revealing three new mass-market EV models, the EV3, EV4, and EV5, in October 2023, the Korean automaker is preparing to launch a fourth.

The new lineup is part of Kia’s “EVs for all” strategy, with prices ranging from $30,000 to upwards of $80,000. Kia launched the EV5 in China, starting at around $20,000 (149,800 yuan) in November 2023. Last year, Kia followed it up with the EV3, which is now rolling out in Europe for around $38,000 (36,000 euros).

Kia will introduce the EV4 globally this year, or what it calls “an entirely new type of sedan.” Depending on the market, it’s expected to start at around $30,000 to $40,000 as a potential Tesla Model 3 challenger.

On the company’s Q4 and full-year 2024 earnings call this week, Kia confirmed plans to launch the EV2 in January 2026. The EV2 will be built at its Zilina, Slovakia plant, Kia’s first manufacturing facility in Europe.

Although it was not showcased during its 2023 EV day, Kia CEO Ho-Sung Song told Autocar that the EV2 would go on sale in 2026 with a target price of around $30,000 (£25,000) in Europe. In Korea, prices could start as low as $15,000 (KRW 20 million).

Kia’s CEO stressed that building affordable EVs is “very important” for the brand. It will also help “the European market that is in need of smaller [electric] vehicles too,” Song added.

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Kia EV2 in South Korea (Source: CarShorts)

Ahead of its official debut, the EV2 has been caught in public testing a few times, revealing a Soul-like design. You can expect an exterior look similar to the EV3 and EV5, featuring Kia’s new Opposites United design.

Like other models in the lineup, it’s expected to feature Kia’s new Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) operating system inside. The setup includes a dual 12.3″ driver display and infotainment screens.

Kia-EV3-interior — Kia EV3 interior (Source: Kia)

Like the EV3 and EV5, the EV2 is expected to be based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, providing over 300 miles (605 km WLTP) of range.

Earlier today, we learned that Kia will launch the EV5 in Canada next year, but not in the US. The EV5 will even include a native NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. So, for those of you in the US, don’t get too excited. Given the lack of demand for smaller cars, the EV2 is not expected to arrive in the US. Hopefully, Kia will surprise us.

Source: TheKoreanCarBlog, Kia

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Environment

Renewables to continue driving US power generation growth – EIA

Published

55 mins ago

February 1, 2025

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Renewables to continue driving US power generation growth – EIA

solar wind renewables EIA — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Renewable capacity additions, especially solar, will continue to drive the growth of US power generation over the next two years, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

According to its latest “Short-Term Energy Outlook” (STEO), the EIA expects that US utilities and independent power producers will add 26 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity to the US electric power sector in 2025 and 22 GW in 2026.

Last year, the electric power sector added a record 37 GW of solar power capacity to the electric power sector, almost double the solar capacity additions in 2023. The EIA forecasts wind capacity additions will increase by around 8 GW in 2025 and 9 GW in 2026, slight increases from the 7 GW added in 2024.

Generating capacity for most other energy sources will remain mostly unchanged in 2025 and 2026. Natural gas-fired capacity growth slowed in 2024, with only 1 GW of capacity added to the power mix, but natural gas is still the largest source of US power generation.

The EIA forecasts that US coal retirements will accelerate, removing 6% (11 GW) of coal generating capacity from the US electricity sector in 2025 and removing another 2% (4 GW) in 2026. Last year, coal retirements represented about 3 GW of electric power capacity removed from the power system, which is the lowest annual amount of coal capacity retired since 2011.

The EIA expects that planned renewable capacity additions will support most of the growth in US electric power generation, which is anticipated to increase by 2% in 2025 and by 1% in 2026. The US electric power sector produced a total of 4,155 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in 2024, up 3% from 2023.

Natural gas. In 2024, US natural gas-fired power plants generated a total of 1,767 billion kWh, 4% more than in 2023. Natural gas-fired power accounted for around 42% of the US electricity mix, mostly unchanged compared with 2023. The EIA expects natural gas generation to decline in 2025 by 3% to 1,712 billion kWh and decrease a further 1% to 1,692 billion kWh in 2026.

Renewables. The EIA expects renewable power generation will increase by 12% in the US to 1,058 billion kWh in 2025 and increase a further 8% to 1,138 billion kWh in 2026. Renewable sources were the second-largest contributor to US power generation in 2024 and accounted for 945 billion kWh, up 9% from 2023.

Nuclear. The EIA forecasts that US nuclear power generation will grow 2% to 796 billion kWh in 2025 and increase a further 1% to 800 billion kWh in 2026. Nuclear power generation in 2024 was up slightly from 2023, totaling 781 billion kWh.

Coal. Coal electricity generation was 647 billion kWh in 2024. The EIA expects US coal power generation to remain unchanged at around 640 billion kWh in 2025 and 2026.

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Environment

This is New Jersey’s largest high-rise residential rooftop solar array

Published

4 hours ago

January 31, 2025

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This is New Jersey's largest high-rise residential rooftop solar array

New York-based real estate developer LeFrak has installed the largest rooftop solar array on a high-rise multifamily residential building in New Jersey.

The Beach, a 336-unit waterfront rental tower in Jersey City’s Newport neighborhood, now hosts a 180kW, 450-panel rooftop solar system that will offset 13% of the building’s carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 37 gas-powered cars from the road annually. Sunkeeper Solar, a Brooklyn-based solar energy company, installed the nearly $1 million system.

The new rooftop solar offsets energy produced by electrical systems used in The Beach’s common area spaces, including those that power elevators and lighting, as well as cooling and ventilation in the high-rise building’s lobby and amenities. The Beach’s roof design and the building’s orientation optimize the amount of solar power generated by the system.

“Solar makes sense on multi-family buildings, and especially because Jersey City is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, projects like this should become the bar for new development. Going solar saves consumers money, reduces air pollution, and creates a more resilient energy grid – solar is a double green amenity,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.

Last year, LeFrak partnered with EV-sharing platform Envoy to offer Newport residents exclusive car-sharing benefits and access to a fleet of on-site electric vehicles, representing Envoy’s first expansion into New Jersey.

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Podcast: Tesla earnings were wild, new BMW iX, some EVs won’t make it to the US, and more

Published

6 hours ago

January 31, 2025

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Podcast: Tesla earnings were wild, new BMW iX, some EVs won't make it to the US, and more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s wild Q4 earnings, a new BMW iX, some EVs not making it to the US, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

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