Analysis: why Kia UK is amped up for an EV future

To illustrate his point, Philpott notes that his 80-year-old mother drives a Venga, while his 20-year-old niece drives a Picanto. “We’re not narrowing ourselves down into one segment,” he says. “We’re a volume brand for multiple different demographic segments.”

Kia’s current offering is one of the most varied among all mainstream manufacturers. Prices start at £11,000 for the Picanto (the third-cheapest car offered in the UK), rise to just over £25,000 for the Niro Hybrid and top out at £53,095 for the top-rung 4 version of the flagship Sorento PHEV.

By the end of next year, the EV6 GT will be offered from £58,295 – which, although significantly cheaper than the more overtly premium EVs to which it bears comparison, is a marked step up the pricing ladder for Kia.

Promisingly, all signs point to UK consumers being more than happy to consider range-topping Kias against their more established rivals. Some 50% of Sorento PHEVs, for example, are ordered in 4 trim, and it’s the same for the slightly cheaper Sorento Hybrid.

“In the end,” says Philpott, “it’s about ‘does it represent value for what you get as a product, and what you pay as monthly payment?’. That means you need to secure a strong residual value, which we’re doing with the Sorento, and customers are voting with their wallets. £58,295 for the GT version of the EV6 doesn’t scare me in terms of price.”

Lower down Kia’s EV line-up is the more accessible e-Niro, which, following the market introduction of the new 2 Long Range variant, remains eligible for the government’s reduced EV subsidy with its larger (64kWh) battery pack.

The lower-volume Soul EV crossover narrowly misses out on the grant, because its prices start at £37,545.

With regard to Westminster’s decision to lower the grant threshold from £50,000 to £35,000 and the amount contributed toward each car from £3000 to £2500, Philpott said: “I do understand the point that people will make: if you have £35,000 to £40,000 to spend on a new car, why do you need a government grant to do so? [However,] it creates an artificial cliff edge at one specific price point.”

Philpott noted that several competitors soon cut the prices of affected EVs to ensure they remained under the threshold but said that “the customer won’t necessarily be better off.”

He explained: “The residual value is lower, because the list price is lower, they won’t have as many incentives and the dealer won’t have as much margin in the car.

“People need to look at this in totality. If I had been consulted, I would have looked at something more graduated.”

The change means that, come the introduction of the EV6, just one of Kia’s three EVs will be eligible for the grant and only in its entry-level form. However, Philpott points to pleasing levels of pre-launch interest in the EV6 as an indication that the brand isn’t wholly dependent on financial incentives to create demand for its EVs.

In any case, Kia’s global electrification plans remain unhampered by the UK’s legislative alterations, and the company remains on track to introduce seven new bespoke EVs by 2026.