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Kia may have decided on a new nomenclature for its electric vehicle range in the US.
According to Korean automotive site Bobaedream (via The Korean Car Blog), the names IK1 to IK9 were trademarked by Kia in the US earlier this week, with the general expectation among online circles that the car maker could be rebadging its electric vehicles (EVs) for that market.
Drive can reveal Kia has also submitted trademark applications for the new names in Australia – suggesting the monikers could be applied to its EVs locally, or the car maker is simply aiming to protect the names in other markets for future use.
IK1 to IK9 were trademarked by Kia in the US earlier this week, with the general expectation among online circles that the car maker could be rebadging its electric vehicles (EVs) for that market.
CarAdvice can reveal Kia has also submitted trademark applications for the new names in Australia – suggesting the monikers could be applied to its EVs locally, or the car maker is simply aiming to protect the names in other markets for future use.
Alternatively, the names could manifest as special (possibly hybrid) versions of the brand s existing passenger car range, which in the US, Korea and other markets eschews traditional model names in favour of K branding – such as K3 (Cerato), K5 (Optima) and K8.
Genesis’ all-electric GV60 crossover has been spotted testing on a number of occasions and, according to a new report, could be unveiled as early as June.
Its launch will come after the release of both the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, which use the same E-GMP architecture as the GV60.
The Korean Car Blog now reports that we could see it in the flesh in just a couple of months.
Spy shots of the vehicle have confirmed that it will be smaller than the GV70 but include the quad headlights and quad taillights that all new Genesis models feature. It will also have a sloping roofline and will look quite different than the Ioniq 5 and EV6.
The Ioniq 6 sedan might be coming earlier than expected.
Like most automakers, Hyundai is moving at a rapid pace towards full-scale electrification. Although it has yet to officially announce those plans like some other automakers have done, the writing is on the wall. It ll happen sooner or later and the South Korean carmaker is quite anxious to launch its second battery-electric model.
According to The Korean Car Blog, Hyundai aims to launch the Ioniq 6 all-electric sedan earlier in 2022 than originally planned. Basically, it wants to shorten the time span once the Ioniq 5 hits the market, which could go on sale as soon next month in South Korea.
Spied testing in South Korea in recent months – with the images throughout this story published by
The Korean Car Blog– updates to the Cerato hatch and sedan will be led by revised exterior styling, with a restyled front bumper with a slimmer grille and new LED daytime-running light signatures.
There will also be a selection of new alloy wheel designs, plus tweaked rear bumper and tail-light designs.
Inside, a larger 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen (up from 8.0 inches) and 7.0-inch instrument display are expected to feature, as per the small Kia s platform-mate, the facelifted Hyundai i30 hatch.
Under the bonnet, the updated small car will likely benefit from a revised line-up of SmartStream petrol engines, expected to deliver identical power and torque outputs but reduced fuel consumption.