Kia President Song Ho-seong “PBV market share goal of 20% by 2030” [CES 2024]

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Kia CES 2024 Media Day held
2030 PBV sales goal of 300,000 units
“We will be the first mover in the PBV market”

▲Kia President Song Ho-seong is answering questions from reporters at a press conference held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA on the 8th (local time). (Photo provided by Kia)

Kia President Song Ho-seong announced his goal to sell 300,000 Purpose-Based Mobility (PBV) units by 2030.

At a press conference held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA on the 8th (local time), President Song said, “The size of the electric commercial vehicle (LCV) market is expected to be about 1.5 million units in 2030,” adding, “Kia will produce 300,000 units by 2030.” “We are targeting 20% ​​market share by selling 100 units of PBV,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, Kia held a media day under the theme of ‘Mobility for everyone, presented by a prepared Kia’ and revealed its future strategy related to PBV.

President Song emphasized that in order to achieve this goal, an innovative production method that is completely different from existing ones is needed.

He said, “Existing car factories have a conveyor belt system that goes from A to Z, so flexibility is quite low. The types of cars that can be produced are limited, and when making a variety of different models, some processes have to be slow or are not efficient.” pointed out.

President Song said, “We decided that a dedicated factory was needed to make PBVs flexible, so we are building a PBV-specific factory at Autoland Hwaseong. Although it is a small volume, we can respond flexibly when orders for vehicles for special purposes come in.” said.

President Song said that he is considering expanding the PBV market not only for business purposes but also for individual customers.

He said, “PBV is not only for individual businesses, but we are also thinking about the B2C (business-to-consumer) market.” He added, “We are developing PBV so that people in wheelchairs can conveniently get into the car, or to make it easier to go out with their dogs.” “We plan to target the B2C market as well because vehicles can be used,” he said.

President Song said, “Existing companies are conducting business according to the traditional LCV method, and I don’t think there is a company that specifically proposes a PBV approach or a future-oriented and innovative business model.” He added, “We will strive to become the first mover in the PBV market.” “He added.