Kia Soul going electric in 2014

By Douglas Newcomb Fri 11:35 AM

In the boxing match among boxy vehicles such as the Scion xB and the Nissan Cube, the Kia Soul has become one of the Korean brand’s best-selling models. That's why the Soul will become Kia’s first plug-in electric vehicle in the United States.

The Kia Soul EV is scheduled to hit the U.S. market in 2014, and details about the battery-powered car will be announced at one of the upcoming major auto shows, Michael Sprague, Kia's executive vice president of marketing and communications, told MSN Autos.

“Soul led a design transformation at Kia and positioned us as a funky, fun and cool brand,” Sprague said. “Now it will help position Kia as an environmentally conscious brand as well.”

Sprague also revealed that Soul EV will use the architecture of the Kia Ray EV, a similar model currently available in Korea.  With the redesign of the 2014 Soul (pictured above), the platform made perfect sense for Kia's first-ever U.S. EV, he added.

The Soul EV will compete with other small EVs such as the Chevrolet Spark EV, Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV and Scion iQ EV. And like those models it will be available only in select markets, such as California.

The Golden State is also the site of the first public charging station in the U.S. to offer the SAE DC “Combo” Fast-Charging system. The charger, which can top off an EV’s battery in under 30 minutes, was opened in San Diego earlier this week.

Automakers including Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, GM and Volkswagen have signed on to adopt the connector for the charging system, which fits with the lower-voltage charging ports currently in place and does not require a separate connection like the CHAdeMO fast-charge port seen on Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles. The Chevrolet Spark EV will be the first to offer the fast-charge connector as an option later this year.

California, which is home to the most electric passenger vehicles in the nation, also recently assured EV buyers that they would get tax credits for the next 10 years. State lawmakers have approved extending tax credits to buyers of both plug-in electric hybrid and all-electric vehicles through 2024, and Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign off on the legislation soon. The bill will offer buyers of these vehicles up to $2,500 in state tax credits.