Kia launches ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ business at CES 2024

Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) offers customised vehicles and solutions to enhance versatility and open limitless possibilities, catering to both businesses and individuals.

Five Kia PBV concept models unveiled at CES 2024 include three Concept PV5 derivatives, Concept PV7 and Concept PV1, the PV5 due to begin mass production in 2025.

The PBV platform offers users a blank canvas to redefine how space and mobility can adapt to their needs by providing flexibility through radical modularity, says Kia.

It says a three-phase PBV road map will transform the mobility landscape, with more models, advanced software and bespoke services to come.

Concept EV3, Concept EV4 and EV6 GT and EV9 production models showcase an ‘EV Life for Everyone’, says Kia.

This future vision was presented alongside a multi-phase plan that will see PBVs revolutionise the mobility industry while helping to advance Hyundai Motor Group’s ambitions in robotics, advanced air mobility (AAM), and autonomous driving.

The PBVs combine fit-for-purpose EVs with advanced software solutions based on the Hyundai Motor Group’s software-to-everything (SDx) strategy.

Kia says its PBVs will open the door to new businesses and lifestyles, providing advanced, tailored interiors.

“Kia’s PBV business represents our vision of going beyond the traditional concept of automobiles by fulfilling the unmet needs of diverse customers and communities through optimised vehicles and services catering to specific market and business circumstances,” says Kia president and chief executive Ho Sung Song.

“Kia PBVs will be an enabler of business innovation thanks to our customer-centric management system, EV mass production expertise, and the Hyundai Motor Group’s rapidly developing SDx strategy and related future businesses.”

The launch of Kia’s PBV business will see the brand commit to providing a varied range of customised vehicle types to meet customers’ individual requirements.

Determined to overcome all existing restrictive and one-dimensional industry product line-up offerings, Kia believes its new approach to PBVs can help solve the mobility challenges encountered by individuals and organisations with limited transportation options.

Phase one will see the introduction of the Kia PV5, a versatile EV optimised for major domains such as hailing, delivery and utilities that features conversion capability for diverse customer needs, including “Basic”, “Van”, “High Roof”, and “Chassis Cab” versions.

Enhanced data connectivity between vehicles and external data such as route or delivery information will enable operation of multiple vehicles as a software-defined fleet.

Kia also plans to introduce a Robotaxi model developed with Motional (a joint venture between HMG and Aptiv), which aims to provide a revolutionary autonomous hailing experience for passengers.

Phase two will see the completion of the dedicated PBV model line-up, and PBVs will evolve into artificial intelligence (AI) based mobility platforms that use data to interact with users and ensure the vehicles are always up to date.

In phase three, Kia PBVs will evolve into highly customisable, bespoke mobility solutions by integrating with the future mobility ecosystem.

Connected self-driving vehicles will be managed as part of a single smart city operating system.

Utilising ‘Easy Swap’ technology to flexibly address the diverse demands of customers, a single vehicle chassis can be used to fulfil multiple mobility needs.

Behind a fixed cab, or ‘driver zone’, a variety of interchangeable upper bodies, or ‘life modules’, can be connected to the base vehicle via a hybrid electromagnetic and mechanical coupling technology, turning the PBV into a taxi during the day, to a delivery van at night, and a personal recreational vehicle on weekends.

Shipped in standardised, convenient kit form, “Dynamic Hybrid” technology will allow for the quick and simple in-field transformation of a Kia PV5.

On each vehicle, large doors open out to reveal an exceptionally accommodating pillarless opening that provides easy access.

Inside, the extended wheelbase and electric platform ensure wide, flat open spaces to offer stowage and usage possibilities.

The driver’s experience is also enhanced, as the cockpit provides a desk-like surface, and the steering wheel can be folded to serve as a desk lamp.

Materials such as bio plastic, post-consumer material (PCM) plastic, bio paint, recycled PET fabric, felt and yarns, and bio-PU foam will be used.

An integrated rail system on the vehicle’s ceiling, floor, and side panels, as well as on the exterior, enables customisation.

Kia’s EV charging solution optimises charging schedules for maximum efficiency, using advanced charging infrastructure and allowing high-density energy batteries to power mobile devices and emergency equipment, all delivered via unified software, enabling packaged solutions adaptable to various business environments.

Back at CES after a five-year absence and with four displays areas (representing a park, city, home and factory), Kia says it has established partnerships with companies like Uber, Coupang, CJ Logistics, Kakao Mobility, and Dubai Taxi Corporation to further enhance its PBV-dedicated business system.