A major upheaval in the automotive industry is just around the corner.

Following an expert's analysis that electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and car sharing will form a virtuous cycle and advance the automobile industry, Kia's PBV strategy, which can freely move between roles such as people mover and logistics, was announced, along with a plan to begin mass production of the first PBV model in July 2025.

On the 21st, the Korea Automobile Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as Hanjayeon) prepared a venue for diverse communication between related organizations and companies on the current status, prospects, and development strategies of Purpose Built Vehicles (hereinafter referred to as PBVs) at the COEX Startup Branch.

This 7th event covered the current status, prospects, and development strategies of 'PBV', which is attracting attention as a future smart mobility solution.

Moon Cheol-woo, head of the Platform Safety Technology Lab at Hanjayun, gave a presentation on the topic of “Mobility Platform Technology Preparing Future Industries” and said, “I believe that the automobile industry will develop in a virtuous cycle with electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and car sharing.” He added, “Autonomous driving via train and issues with driving distance are expected to be improved through shared platforms.”

J.JPG" style="width: 800px; height: 450px;" />
▲Moon Cheol-woo, Director of the Hanjayeon Platform Safety Technology Research Lab

Director Moon also paid attention to changes in the industrial ecosystem.

The industry is changing from a hierarchical relationship to a parallel relationship where players who were not previously active in the automobile industry, such as the IT industry, are entering the industry, rather than a hierarchical relationship, and are exerting influence on each other.

A representative example is that major parts companies such as Bosch are releasing complete vehicles.

Research Director Moon said, “We can think that parts companies are looking beyond the complete vehicle sector under the keywords of autonomous driving, car sharing, service, and IT convergence, and are trying to transition their industry into the service sector by moving into the IT sector.” He emphasized, “We need to look at the current automobile industry from various perspectives.”

Kia, which made an impressive appearance with its PBV at CES 2024, also participated in the event that day.

Through PBV, Kia aims to present a new future direction in a situation where rapid digital transformation is taking place, including smart mobility, the sharing economy, and e-commerce.

To this end, Kia redefined the concept of PBV as ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ at CES 2024.

Park Kyung-hyun, head of Kia’s PBV business division, presented Kia’s PBV vision and future strategy, saying, “Kia views PBV as a platform that is not limited to vehicles, and it was born from considerations about a business transformation that goes beyond simple vehicle sales.” He said.

▲Park Kyung-hyun, Team Leader, Kia PBV Business Division

Kia is pursuing eco-friendly business under the slogan of providing sustainable mobility through a brand relaunch in 2021, while also pursuing market dominance and enhanced profitability through PBV, which did not exist before.

Team Leader Park Kyung-hyun said, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we observed the growth of e-commerce and platform businesses, and identified the need for B2B vehicles and the inconveniences and requirements of business operators.” He explained, “PBV is a platform that allows Kia to create a business ecosystem by grafting the solutions and technologies necessary for vehicles for these businesses.”

He added, “Because PBVs pursue various purposes, specifications, and forms, there are many limitations in producing them on existing vehicle production lines, so we are currently building a factory in Hwaseong City with a flexible production system for PBVs.”

The PBV-dedicated production plant, which began construction last year, is called the EVO Plant, inspired by the word Evolution, and is currently nearing completion.

The plant is configured as a hybrid that combines two production methods: the conveyor belt line used in existing automobile production lines and the cell production method used in luxury vehicle production lines.

x; height: 450px;" />
▲Kia PBV lineup (Image source: Hyundai Motor Group)

It will be 95% similar to the design of the PV series, the PBV model unveiled at CES 2024, and mass production is scheduled to begin in July 2025, starting with the PV5.

Kia plans to make third-party solutions available to customers to ensure they have all the solutions they want, and it also plans to generate revenue by providing services such as remote maintenance and charging routing using AI.

Steps to implement the above plan are also being taken step by step.

Team Leader Park Kyung-hyun emphasized, “Kia’s future vision is to present a new lifestyle,” saying, “We have signed an MOU with Uber at CES 2024, are in discussions with Amazon, have formed partnerships with companies such as CJ and Coupang, and are in various discussions with Supernal to provide multimodal mobility services between vertiport-centered PBVs and AAMs.”

Meanwhile, 'Jasan Eobo' is an event hosted by Hanjayeon every month. It is an abbreviation for 'Uniting and Supporting the Automobile Industry' and is a regular networking event in the mobility industry that aims to share useful information and expand collaboration among members based on regular meetings and exchanges among members of the mobility industry.

▲Director Na Seung-sik and Han Ja-yeon