Kia Soul EV goes in to production for UK and Europe

Production of the electric Kia Soul for the export market has begun in South Korea ahead of its arrival in the UK and Europe later in 2014.

The electric Kia Soul was revealed at the Chicago Motor Show back in February, with Kia promising it would go on sale in the UK and Europe late in 2014. And that looks to be on track.

Kia has announced that the Soul EV for the export market has now gone in to production – the first electric car from Kia destined for export from South Korea – with the first cars off the production line destined for Europe. And if you must have a BEV, the Soul EV doesn’t look a bad choice- depending on price, which we expect to be around £25k.

That’s because the Soul EV comes with a 27 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack, regenerative braking and a new ventilation system that allows full use of HVAC without compromising range. 

And it’s the range that matters, so an official range of 132 miles (probably 100 miles if you want to be sure) is more than enough for almost everyone as a runaround for the kids or a local commuter car.

With performance of 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds the Soul isn’t swift, but the 108 bhp electric motor also offers 210 lb/ft of torque, which should make it feel quicker.

Charging times are also reasonable, with home charging time of 5 hours from a slow charger and as quick as 25 minutes from a 100 kW charger for an 80 per cent charge.

Kia are only planning on building around 5,000 Soul EVs a year, so they’re not going to be on every street corner.

But if you do want one then you can pop over to Kia’s Soul EV signup page to register your interest.