Kia has announced plans to launch an HUV (hybrid utility vehicle) by late 2016. With its released teaser image of the Kia Niro HUV, the US-meets-Korean blueprint resembles a cautiously looking exterior. This production will be a hybrid-only model and it is said that the 1.6-litre petrol engine would help in emitting CO2 of approximately ‘sub-90g/km’.
Kia Niro: What We Know So Far
Pioneering the new ‘dedicated eco-car platform’, Kia Niro aims to be hybrid-only in an attempt to shift the image of petrol-gobbling off-roaders. Kia also claims that all Niros will feature high-quality steels and other weight-saving measures by the end of 2020.
According to Hyoung-Keun Lee, vice chairman and CEO of Kia Motors Corporation, “The car would appeal to a broader range of customers because they could have the best of both worlds; everything from a compact SUV to having low-running costs with a dedicated hybrid powertrain.”
CAR’s spies have recently caught Kia Niro on trials in its prototype form; testing in the Austrian Alps.
