Kia has announced that its latest electric vehicle, the EV6, has become the first Korean car to be awarded carbon footprint certification, after independent verification from the Carbon Trust confirmed that Kia’s operations are in line with the industry’s environmental best practices.
In essence, Kia is getting an independent third-party to fact-check and verify its own sustainability claims, which is a nice and transparent touch in a world filled with corporate green-washing.
This carbon footprint certification essentially measures the total carbon emissions for the construction and lifespan of the EV6, and pits them against internationally-recognised emissions standards to ensure that Kia is creating a product that is truly sustainable. Speaking about the achievement, Sangdae Kim, Kia’s head of strategic business planning, said:
“As we introduce more electrified models to our line up over the coming years, we will step up our sustainability efforts and ensure we are achieving high levels of transparency when it comes to environmental impact. It has been great to work closely with the Carbon Trust to achieve the Carbon Measured label as one of our first steps to implement new sustainability initiatives.”
Everything from the extraction of raw materials for its construction through to Kia’s production facilities have been verified, with the independent organisation awarding the EV6 with a ‘Carbon Measured’ label that essentially validates Kia’s investment in acquiring new parts, designing parts and establishing an end-of-life recycling initiative.
The simplest example of this is verifying Kia’s calculation of how much carbon was emitted while mining and extracting raw materials for the platform and battery packs, as well as confirming that the recycled textiles used in the interior are the equivalent of more than 100 half-litre PET bottles.
The Kia EV6 is the first of the Korean company’s offerings to be based on the new Hyundai Motor Group modular platform (E-GMP) that is said to offer superior occupant space to other EVs, fast-charging capabilities, and some impressive range figures for the market.
The EV6 will be launched in four variants, with upper models featuring a 77.4kWh battery pack that offers up to 528km of WLTP-rated range. Kia says its 400/800V electric system can be fast-charged from 10-80 per cent in just 18 minutes, adding the equivalent of just under 100km of range in five minutes with the use of a 350kW ultra-fast charger.
We can expect to see the first examples of the Kia EV6 to arrive in Australia in either late 2021 or more likely early 2022. Kia is yet to confirm precise pricing for the EV6 in Australia, but judging from international pricing, we should expect to see base models going for around $60,000, not including on-road costs.
