Last week during press days at the NY Auto Show, we got a chance to talk cars w/ Kia. More specifically Neil Dunlop, head of PR for Kia to be exact. We talked about the inspiration behind the new Niro hybrid and we dive a bit into what their future plans are for green technology and other vehicles.
You can see the video above along w/ notes from the interview below:
What inspired Kia to create the Niro?
We wanted to offer a car to consumers that offer everything from a hybrid like lower emissions and great fuel efficiency but still be useful to their lifestyle. You can fit 5 passengers in here w/ a hatchback. So we wanted to offer a car that gives you a hybrid w/o looking like one. BTW, this is Kia’s 1st car that was built to be a hybrid rather than add those features on existing vehicles.
Any plans for more vehicles like the Niro in the near future from Kia?
We actually do. This is all a part of our green roadmap which is $10.2 billion investment in green technology. We already have more plug-in hybrids than any of competitors w/ the Niro, Optima, & the EV Soul. We’re hoping to have 9-11 models available by 2020 that will be a plug-in, a hybrid, electric, or other technologies. Kia is dedicated to reducing emission by 25% by the year 2020 as well as fuel consumption.
What are your go-to apps on your phone right now?
That’s easy. Google, Yelp!, and American Airlines.
Huge thanks to Neil and the rest of the Kia team for making this happen.
