Though it may have been a late entrant to the electric car market, Kia came out swinging with the well-recieved Soul EV. After the initial limited rollout produced higher-than-expected sales, the Kia has decided to accelerate a nationwide rollout by expanding Soul EV sales to five additional states where EV sales are booming.
The Kia Soul EV initially launched last year in California, and soon buyers in Oregon, Washington, Texas, Georgia, and Hawaii will be able to go to select Kia dealers to get a Soul EV of their own. The expansion is set to happen in the coming months with June tapped as the unofficial rollout, and additional markets will come online to get Kia’s first electric car in 2016. Executives previously said the Soul EV has been a “huge hit”, and its little wonder why the automaker would want to get its first electric car in front of more buyers.
“From the inception of the Soul EV program, Kia’s sales strategy has been progressive and pragmatic,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning, KMA. “With the level of demand and supporting infrastructure in the state, California was a natural place to start, but we’ve been carefully studying other markets. Between consumer reaction to the Soul EV and growing infrastructure programs in these five states, this is a logical – and exciting – next step in our rollout plan.”
The Soul EV offers an EPA-rated 105 miles of electric driving range, and drivers could recharge 80% of the Soul’s lithium-ion battery in just 30 minutes using a 50 kW DC fast charger. Soul EV buyers also have the option of choosing from three different home charging stations from Bosch, Aerovironment, and Leviton. The Kia Soul EV has a base price of $33,700 before federal or state tax incentives, as well as a $249 a month lease .
Source: Gas2
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