A yellow robot arm moves steel plates weighing well over 100 kilograms back and forth to weld them. An unmanned guided vehicle carries loads of up to 600 kilograms and moves along a white line. A vision camera checks the assembly position of parts with 0.2-millimeter precision. A robot fits parts in the exact place with consistent force according to a guide. A sensor automatically measures panel gaps of assembled products and sends the data to the system.
On the 8th, Kia held the "PBV (purpose-built vehicle) production hub tech day" at the EVO Plant East at Autoland Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province and showcased production technologies. Based on these technologies, Kia is producing 50,000 units a year of the compact electric PBV PV5 at the EVO Plant. The EVO Plant was completed in Jan. 2023 with a 4 trillion won investment to lead electrification in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment. In June next year, Kia plans to complete the EVO Plant West as well and double its annual production capacity to 200,000 units.
Kia introduced a variety of automation systems at the EVO Plant to flexibly produce various models in line with PBV characteristics, bring personalized mobility to life, and ensure uniform quality.
PBVs serve a range of needs, not only for multi-passenger transport but also as camping vehicles, refrigerated box trucks, and open-bed trucks (a bed without a cover) for cargo. Ten variants of the PV5 are being produced now. The strategy is to build a virtuous cycle by making diverse models while reducing human error across all processes, including body, paint, and assembly, and by using production data to streamline manufacturing and raise quality.
◇ PV7 unveiled to expand PBV lineup… aiming to sell a cumulative 890,000 units by 2030
Kia plans to actively adopt these automation systems for production of the large electric PBV PV7 to be unveiled on the 14th at IAA Transportation 2026 in Hanover, Germany. The PV7 is slated to be built at the EVO Plant West, which will be completed next year.
As a new plant, it will introduce tunnel-type vision inspection (an inspection that uses multiple cameras to view a vehicle's exterior at once), which the East plant does not have, and will add automatic installation of parts such as the roof antenna, quarter glass, and floor console. So Deuk-young, executive vice president and head of Kia Autoland Hwaseong, said, "We will deliver high completeness in quality based on more advanced production technologies and a quality control system."
Following the PV7 next year, Kia plans to launch the extra-large PBV PV9 in 2029 to aggressively target the personalized mobility market. Earlier, Kia President Song Ho-sung set a goal of selling a cumulative 890,000 PBVs by 2030, with 73% overseas, to achieve 32 trillion won in exports. Through last month, Kia's PV5 sales reached 39,000 units, 72% of the target of 54,000.
Hyundai Motor Group projected that the PBV market, which grew from 320,000 units in global annual sales in 2020 to 1.3 million last year, will expand to 20 million by 2030. According to Orion Market Research, the global PBV market is expected to see an average annual growth rate of 6.1% from 2023 to 2030. As a result, global automakers such as GM, Ford, and Mercedes-Benz are moving quickly into the PBV market.
Kia is targeting the market by producing customized vehicles based on the PBV Conversion Center inside the EVO Plant. The Conversion Center adapts basic PBV models for passengers, cargo, and chassis cabs (a commercial-vehicle configuration without a cargo bed) to create special-purpose vehicles such as taxi-focused models, refrigerated vans, and patrol cars to meet customer needs. It was completed in Aug. last year and has an annual capacity of 40,000 units.
Executive Vice President So Deuk-young said, "The value of PBVs is not completed by innovation in the vehicle alone. A production system that responds quickly and flexibly to diverse needs and conversion capabilities tailored to customer purposes must be in place," adding, "The EVO Plant will continue to play a central role for Kia PBVs."