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A closer look at the 2015 Kia Soul EV

Kia is set to join the fully electric vehicle space this year, with the fresh-faced 2015 Soul EV. The all-electric Soul made its debut at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this month, and Autoblog west coast editor Michael Harley had a chance to speak with Orth Hedrick, Kia's vice president of product planning, about the new electrified hatchback. In its standard form, the Kia Soul offers tons a wealth of functionality with its upright packaging, and with a new 81-kilowatt electric motor underhood, the electric vehicle should be good for between 80 and 100 miles of driving range. Charging times vary from as long as 24 to five hours, depending on your setup, and Kia is partnering with Bosch, Leviton and AeroVironment to provide different charging solutions, depending on a customer's specific needs. Take another, closer look at the 2015 Kia Soul EV in the video, below.

Hyundai, Kia expanding plug-in vehicle line-up in Korea

Hyundai is shedding a bit of light on its electric vehicle plans. About time, too, since the company has spend a long period being quite vague about plugging in while touting its hydrogen plans. The Hyundai and Kia brands will both release their first plug-in hybrid vehicles next year in Korea; an all-electric version of the Kia Soul will roll out in May of this year and a mid-size electric vehicle will be launched as early as next year. Test versions of the Hyundai i10 electric vehicle have been on Korean roads since first being used at the G20 summit in Seoul in 2010. There have been hints about an electrified Hyundai coming to America, and at the Washington Auto Show last week, Michael O'Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning for Hyundai Motor America told AutoblogGreen that a new EV will be coming to the US market sometime within the next three years. A Hyundai executive told Korean national daily The Chosunilbo that the company will be significantly increasing its investment in hybrids and EVs to roll out a few eco-friendly models starting in 2015. It's hard to say which of these might come to the US market – a new LF Sonata will be coming out in both a regular gasoline and hybrid system in Korea; the US already has the Sonata Hybrid for sale. As for plug-in hybrids, Hyundai said that there will be both Sonata and Kia K5 (Optima) models coming out next year. These will also be the first-ever plug-in hybrids in the Korean market. Featured Gallery 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid View 13 Photos News Source: The Chosunilbo Green Hyundai Kia Electric Hybrid Hydrogen Cars PHEV

Kia slices K900 pricing amidst slow sales

Kia is learning the same hard lesson that Volkswagen learned so many years ago – it's not easy for a volume brand to sell a luxury car. The K900 luxury sedan has suffered through slow sales, moving just over 1,300 vehicles last year, and now the South Korean company is trimming the cost of entry to entice consumers. A new K900 Premium lowers the sedan's price by $5,000, from $59,500 to $54,500, not including a $900 destination charge, Motor Authority reports. While the price is lower, previously standard items, such as LED headlights, Nappa leather and a 17-speaker Lexicon stereo have been packaged as part of a new Luxury trim, which will maintain the original starting price. The two-tier scheme will force consumers to make a new decision about their K900, but that won't extend to the brute under the hood. A 5.0-liter V8 remains a standard item, making even the K900 Premium a tempting option for anyone that values straight-line thrust in a comfortable package. What are your thoughts? Is Kia merely rearranging the deck chairs on a sedan-shaped Titanic, or do you think trimming the price will do some good for the slow-selling K900? The new price is already reflected on Kia's consumer website, so head over, mess about and then come back and have your say about the move in Comments.