Kia Corporation (Kia) has today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with DHL Korea Ltd. to expand the sustainable logistics ecosystem through Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) models.
Kia is expanding PBV-related cooperation with a variety of external partners to provide total mobility solutions for its customers.
The first PBV model for this collaboration will be Kia’s PV5, the medium-sized PBV, and it will be manufactured from 2026. The model line-up will be expanded further with Kia’s large-sized PBV model, the PV7, which will be released in 2027.
Under the agreement, Kia will develop optimised models by identifying specifications optimised for DHL Korea’s business to produce PBV models designed to deliver specific business solutions.
In the mid- to long-term, Kia plans to continue cooperating with DHL Korea through diverse PBV-linked solutions, such as vehicle charging and warranty service. This PBV-focused collaboration with Kia forms part of DHL Korea’s electrification goal of deploying 100 percent electrified mobility for its logistics business.
In addition, Kia will seek opportunities to expand its cooperation in various regions, including Asia and Europe.
“Kia plans to improve customer business productivity through supplying PBV models optimised for DHL Korea’s business and working as a partner that actively supports electrification to realise sustainable logistics transportation using PBVs,” said Won-Jeong Jeong, Executive Vice President and Head of Korea Business Division at Kia
At CES 2024, Kia presented its PBV program as a key future business that will lead innovation in transportation and announced its goal to become a leading company in the future mobility market by introducing differentiated PBV offerings.
The latest initiative follows Kia’s signing of a sales contract with Fujitsu, a Japanese general trading company, in September this year and announcing its plans to sell PBV models to the Japanese market in 2026. In the future, Kia will also introduce the PV7 in Japan and continue to show various cases of PBV utilisation optimised for market conditions to satisfy Japanese customers.
Also in September, at the IAA Transportation 2024 held in Hanover, Germany, Kia PBV concept models, including the PV5, were introduced for the first time in Europe, underscoring Kia’s determination to become a global market PBV first mover.
SOURCE: Kia
