(Yicai Global) April 24 -- Kia will continue to invest in the Chinese market and introduce six new pure electric vehicle models by 2027, according to the chief operating officer of the South Korean automaker’s Chinese arm.

Kia China intends to raise the share of its EV sales to total sales to 40 percent, or 180,000 units, in 2030, Yang Honghai told Yicai Global during the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition.

Kia China plans to import the EV6 in August. The EV5, the first China-made model, will make its global debut in the Chinese market in November.

“The priority is to comprehensively facilitate Kia China’s electrification transformation and thoroughly execute its new energy vehicle strategic deployment,” Yang said.

“Kia’s success in multiple overseas markets indicates the high quality of its products,” Yang noted, adding that the Seoul-based carmaker’s determination to adopt a “deep-plowing strategy” in the Chinese market will not crumble despite the challenges affecting the firm’s development in the country over the past few years.

To boost sales, Kia China also plans to give buyers charging piles and join hands with UK petrochemicals titan Shell and Chinese charging pile operators to build branded charging stations equipped with 800-volt fast charging piles.

Kia China has already partnered with Sime Darby, Guangzhou Kamlung Auto Development, Changchun Tongli Auto Service, and many other large resellers to complement its existing sales networks and channels.

In 2002, Kia joined hands with China’s Dongfeng Motor and Yueda Group to set up Dongfeng Yueda Kia, one of the first foreign-backed auto brands to enter China. But after the joint venture racked up heavy losses, Dongfeng Motor sold its entire stake in Dongfeng Yueda Kia last year.

Kia was very successful in China in the first decade after it entered the market. But with the emergence of independent brands and the lower prices of mainstream JV brands, the market share of South Korean producers, including Hyundai and Kia, started to shrink.

South Korean carmakers’ sales in China plunged 33 percent to 49,000 units in January and February from a year earlier, for a market share of less than 2 percent, according to statistics from the China Passenger Car Association.

But their poor performance in the Chinese market has not affected the global vehicle sales of South Korean brands. Kia sold 2.9 million cars worldwide last year, up 4.6 percent from 2021, according to its own data. Hyundai sold nearly 6.9 million units in 2022, ranking third globally after Toyota and Volkswagen, with 10.5 million and 8.5 million, respectively.

Editors: Shi Yi, Futura Costaglione