Australia’s current path to electrification the right one, says Kia

Kia Australia has thrown its support behind Australia’s path towards electrification, arguing the current National Vehicle Efficiency Standard remains the right approach towards increased consumer uptake.

Speaking at the launch of the new Kia Seltos SUV – which coincidentally has become a hybrid-only affair in Australia after being offered strictly as a petrol until now – Kia Australia chief executive Dennis Piccoli said he supported the current NVES path.

The federal government originally detailed three distinct policy options in its impact consultation paper to determine how aggressively to reduce vehicle CO2 emissions in Australia.

Now under review, the current pathway was considered the balanced offering, taking a conservative approach to the introduction of NVES guidelines in 2025, before ramping up in 2027 and beyond.

“We’re happy to work with whatever the ground rules are,” Piccoli said this week. “What is a concern in any business is when you’re changing tack all the time. We all know the gestation period for product is a long, long time, and the ability to move and change and be as agile as we’d like to be, just isn’t the case.

“As a company, strategically we were always planning towards EV anyway – that was always part of the plan. The way we’ve set our product portfolio up is based on the current rules and we’ve been supportive of that.”

Kia has taken a multi-pathway approach to its vehicle fleet in Australia, introducing a host of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric models in the past year, along with a strictly (for now) diesel option in the case of the new Tasman.

The broad approach has proved a masterstroke in the wake of historically high petrol prices driven by conflict in the Middle East.

“Kia went from an 80:20 diesel-petrol-hybrid mix in its popular Sportage in February, to a completed 20:80 turnaround two weeks later,” reported Kia marketing boss Dean Norbiato this week

“I can only imagine if you’re a brand – a legacy brand, possibly – and you didn’t have something to offer and be able to meet the market, where that would you put you.

“We’re fortunate that we’re a brand that can move to the market.”

Kia reiterated this week that it would not on-sell any credits accrued under the NVES rules, instead banking them for the introduction of harsher CO2 penalties under the scheme.