2024 Research and Development Disruptor of the Year
Kia
Kia's Research and Development team has been on a roll, bringing excellent products to market at great price points with a suite of technological features that would look comfortable in luxury vehicles costing twice as much. When a company raises the bar once, the pressure is on to raise it again. To do that, Kia's team approached the development of its three-row Kia EV9 electric vehicle in a way that combined everything it has learned in design, engineering, convenience and sustainability.
"The EV9 is a flagship for Kia and an engineering achievement that demonstrates leadership and innovation in both the EV and SUV segments," Heuiwon Yang, president, Kia R&D Division, told Newsweek. "We developed the EV9 to set new benchmarks, and the EV9 reflects the speed of progress at Kia that also shaped the award-winning Telluride and EV6."
Kia's Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) underpins the EV9's long wheelbase. Its flat electric vehicle architecture offers space for three rows of people without cramming them in. Passengers sitting in the first and second rows can completely recline their seats when the EV9 is parked and charging. The seats in the second row can also be swiveled 180 degrees so that second- and third-row passengers talk facing each other. That same architecture enables fast charging capability and some of the quickest speeds on the market today.
"The EV9 was designed to reshape expectations in the segment, but affordability is a defining factor in the three-row mainstream SUV segment. For example, when we formalized the engineering brief for the EV9, Kia engineers chose to leverage the E-GMP platform and 800-volt electrical architecture, to provide seamless driving and recharging experiences," said Yang.
Priced to start at $54,900 in the U.S., the EV9 is the most expensive Kia. However, it's one of the least costly battery-electric three-row SUVs. A pricey Kia required an upmarket interior. Kia aimed to deliver that with sustainable materials. "It introduces the 10 Innovative Materials to replace traditional leather and plastics, to reframe the expectation of premium fit and finish and materiality. We wanted the EV9 to offer the best of everything, without passing on those costs to the consumer," Yang said.
The Kia EV9 is the first model to embrace the brand's new three-step Design Sustainability Strategy, phasing out the use of leather and plastics, using bio-based materials like corn, sugar cane and natural oils.
Kia says its research and development is driven by process, but not limited by it. That means Kia can speed up its development and pioneer technologies faster than the industry average, including when making mid-generation updates. It can also fine-tune each vehicle for its market. For instance, the developers focused on towing for the American version of the EV9. It can pull 5,000 pounds and was torture-tested at the famous Davis Dam grade in Arizona.
"Our R&D processes are ever-evolving and have become more global in nature over the last decade. For the development of the EV9, that meant evaluating and benchmarking bestselling SUVs from around the world. That's why we turned to Kia Design Center America in Irvine, California, which was responsible for designing the Telluride, for their deep expertise in SUVs," said Yang.
Kia has three R&D centers, in Irvine, California; Rüsselsheim, Germany; and Namyang, South Korea. They are working on Kia's next big thing, while preparing refreshed and next-generation versions of the EV9 and employing lessons learned from the three-row SUV's development.
"Kia R&D is committed to evaluating new market opportunities and ways to surprise consumers, both in the U.S. and around the world. Our new strategy will be critical to steering future R&D developments, as Kia becomes a sustainable mobility solutions provider, as we hinted with the introduction of our PBV lineup at CES this year. We can't wait to unfurl the curtain. What's next for Kia is always just around the corner," Yang said.
How We Did It
To determine the candidates for this year's World's Greatest Auto Disruptors, Newsweek's Autos team, led by Senior Autos Editor Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, compiled a list considering every major automaker in each of the award categories. Brands, teams and individuals were nominated based on their cumulative merits for the past year, after combing through each candidate's accomplishments in the areas of future product planning, business strategy, technology, marketing, engineering, sustainability, manufacturing and research and development. To be considered, candidates had to be employing executive decision-making, corporate strategy, product development and publicity in a way that is driving fundamental, transformative change in the automotive market, with measurable real-world results—or have clear and demonstrable potential to do so. The Legacy award honors an individual who has achieved these results over decades in the industry. The list of nominees was narrowed by Autos editors, including Jake Lingeman. Winners were chosen after a consensus was reached amongst the Autos team and Newsweek top editors.
