{"id":49796,"date":"2023-10-12T09:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-12T09:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/highwaynewspro.com\/?p=49796"},"modified":"2023-10-12T09:49:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T09:49:06","slug":"the-kia-ev3-concept-can-charge-your-e-bike-right-from-the-back-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/highwaynewspro.com\/car-reviews\/the-kia-ev3-concept-can-charge-your-e-bike-right-from-the-back-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kia EV3 Concept Can Charge Your E-Bike Right From The Back Seat"},"content":{"rendered":"
There\u2019s a category of cars I like to call “Electric Crossover, But It\u2019s From Us.” You know the type, even if you\u2019ve never thought about them that way. They\u2019re what you get when an automaker wants to go electric in a super important category meant to sell lots of cars \u2013 compact or midsize crossovers, usually \u2013 but they don\u2019t really have any notable party tricks. Maybe the range is so-so, the technology is just <\/span>fine<\/span><\/em>, or there\u2019s not really a case to be made to buy one over its competition. <\/span><\/p>\n Now, getting more electric vehicles on the road is always a good thing, and not every car needs some standout talent. But those features do help make relatively unexciting crossovers feel a little more interesting. At first, I thought the subcompact Kia EV3 Concept would be like that: not much more than a downsized Kia EV5 or EV9 aimed at small crossover buyers. But I\u2019m pleased to say I was wrong. The EV3 Concept has a rear seat where the bottom part folks up, allowing you to accommodate an e-bike or an electric scooter \u2013 which you can also charge up using vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging. Not bad. <\/span><\/p>\n The EV3 Concept was one of several new electric cars Kia showed off at its inaugural EV Day event in Seoul, with the others being the production version of the EV5 crossover and the new EV4 Concept sedan. But only the EV3 Concept has the ability to stow and charge what you might call an “electric micro-mobility solution.”<\/span><\/p>\n V2L is becoming an increasingly common and popular feature on modern EVs. It turns your car into a giant mobile battery, capable of directly charging laptops, tools, appliances, or anything else that runs on electricity. On Kia and Hyundai\u2019s EVs, you typically connect your device <\/span>to an adapter that resembles a J1772 plug<\/span>, press a button, and then enjoy some flowing electrons. <\/span><\/p>\n While Hyundai Motor Group currently does not make scooters or e-bikes, <\/span>it\u2019s flirted with things like that in the past<\/span> and it\u2019s said it is exploring ways to expand into so-called “last mile” mobility solutions. For the kind of younger, urban buyer Kia would aim the EV3 at, the ability to store and charge such a device could be a massively useful feature \u2013 <\/span>especially as e-bikes start to outsell regular bikes in certain markets<\/span>. (That, or you go down the street and get yourself a <\/span>Honda Motocompacto<\/span> and stick that in the back of your Kia.) <\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s not the only party trick here, either. There\u2019s a console table inside that Kia says wasn\u2019t made but grown \u2013 it\u2019s made of mycelium, the root-like structure of a fungus. “Using Mycelium enables us to mimic the processes we see in nature and leverage it to design more sustainable solutions,” Kia\u2019s head of Color, Materials, and FInish design Mar\u00edlia Biill said in a news release. “The material can be grown in any shape you want using a mold. The use of Mycelium is still at a very early stage, and, as part of Kia\u2019s sustainability strategy, we are working with partners to accelerate [the] development of the material.” In other words, Kia hopes to do more of this over time. <\/span><\/p>\n Visually, the EV3 Concept follows the same playbook as some of its big brothers: it\u2019s basically an EV9 or EV5 but about the size of a Kia Niro. It\u2019s going to be a crucial part of Kia\u2019s plans to vastly expand its EV lineup to more than 1 million global sales by 2026 and to ultimately have EVs make up almost 40 percent of its global sales by 2030. That should also make the production EV3 the smallest member of the Hyundai Motor Group\u2019s E-GMP platform yet, though there\u2019s no word yet on battery sizes or specs \u2013 including whether it will use the 800-volt architecture for ultra-fast charging like the EV6 and EV9 or only go with a more conventional 400-volt architecture like the EV5 will have. <\/span><\/p>\n By the way, if you\u2019re curious about where this leaves the <\/span>Kia Niro EV<\/span>, Kia\u2019s global product team leader Min Woo Park told me it\u2019s not going anywhere. “We still believe there are customers who will look for more affordable EVs, like Niro. We\u2019ll still keep our strategy [going] for that,” he said. <\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s less clear is whether the EV3 is coming to the US or not. “We\u2019re still studying that,” Park said, which is the same story with the EV4. It\u2019s also unclear whether the production-spec EV3 will be built in North America or not, like at Hyundai\u2019s Metaplant in Georgia or Alabama where the Genesis Electrified GV70 is made. If it\u2019s not made here, it won\u2019t qualify for the $7,500 tax credits unless it\u2019s leased. Kia\u2019s still studying that, too. <\/span><\/p>\n Either way, the EV3 Concept is going to be a real car someday, and if the EV5 and EV9 Concepts before it are any indication, the real thing should look awfully close to this. I look forward to hearing more as this develops, and let\u2019s keep our fingers crossed for that rear bench seat, shall we?<\/span><\/p>\n