Kia Unveils Plan for 16 New Electric or Hybrid Vehicles by 2025

(Bloomberg) -- Kia Motors Corp. is the latest automaker to get amped up about electrification, pledging to roll out 16 new advanced powertrain vehicles by 2025 as it looks to further expand its lineup beyond gasoline.

The carmaker -- which displayed at CES a battery-only concept of its Niro subcompact sport utility vehicle with 238 miles (383 kilometers) of driving range -- will introduce a combination of gas-electric and plug-in hybrids, plus pure-electric models and a fuel-cell electric vehicle that will be released in 2020. Of the 16 new models, 10 will arrive in the U.S. by 2020, spokesman James Bell said.

Seeking to capitalize on the high-tech halo of CES, the South Korean carmaker also said Monday it plans to begin pilot testing fully self-driving cars in select urban areas by 2021. In addition, every Kia sold will be connected to a global communications network to help with self-driving and other functions by 2030.

The company will also expand its WiBLE car-sharing service from South Korea to Europe and other regions later this year, it said. Kia hasn’t decided yet whether to bring WiBLE to the U.S., Bell said.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Lippert in Chicago at jlippert@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Anne Riley Moffat

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