Kia has announced a pair of new partnerships focused on EV charging in Europe and the U.S. In America, it has partnered with Electrify America, a charging network based in the country. Through the partnership, U.S. owners of the OEM’s EV6 model will receive 1,000 kWh of complimentary charging at Electrify America’s stations to use over a three-year period. Dependent on the user’s choice of model, as well as other conditions, Kia estimates that this would be equivalent to an estimated 3,500 miles to 4,500 miles of driving.
The EV6 is available in two battery options. For the 58.0 kWh battery, the partnership would provide enough credit to support 17 full charging cycles. For the larger battery, measured at 77.4 kWh, it would support 13 full cycles. Likewise, when charging from 20% to 80%, EV6 owners would be provided with 29 cycles on the smaller battery and 22 on the larger one.
Regardless of which model they choose; all owners can receive the credits through an enrollment code provided through the owner’s portal or the Kia Access smartphone app. This code is then entered into Electrify America’s own smartphone app, where the credits are added, and users can find and access its network of EV chargers. Both apps are available for smartphones running iOS and Android. This is the latest OEM partnership from Electrify America, who has similarly provided complimentary charging incentives for models from several OEMs – including Hyundai, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Polestar.
Kia Europe announced a partnership with Digital Charging Solutions to provide the grid with fully renewable green energy. Through its Kia Charge network of EV charging points, the OEM will determine how much electricity is used by customers and counteract it with the equal amount of green energy. To do so, it will purchase the equivalent number of megawatt-hours (MWh) through Guarantee of Origin certificates, which Digital Charging Solutions will leverage to send renewable energy to the grid. Sourced from wind power, this energy will then be used to power EV charge points among other electrical items. Through this partnership, Kia Europe is working to honor its Plan S strategy to introduce a fully electric line-up of passenger vehicles by 2035 and incentivize customers to purchase an EV that runs sustainably on renewable energy.
