Kia Motors America (KMA) has embarked upon sustaining its drive for putting in place Soul Electric Vehicle (EV) and expanding its infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region, riding high with 20 Soul EV-certified dealers and a widespread charging network.
All the 20 dealers in the region will comprise 12 in Washington and eight in Oregon.
Soul EV, Kia's first ever all-electric, zero-emissions car to hit the stores in the US, will also provide its consumers with UVO EVServices6, a telematics system for locating charging stations.
Arming each with two Level-2 chargers adding up to 40 in PNW region, 10 of them will have DC fast chargers. Some Kia dealers will also give green signal to vehicles for getting them charged free of cost.
KMA product planning - vice-president Orth Hedrick said: "With the level of interest the Soul EV has received in the eco-friendly states of Washington and Oregon, it was only natural for us to expand into the region and make our electrified urban passenger vehicle available to customers who not only want to be eco-conscious, but stylish as well.
"Kia is committed to making sure Soul EV customers in the Pacific Northwest are adequately covered, which is why we're also installing DC fast chargers and offering free charging at select dealers."
The supply of six new DC fast chargers to the current 414 DC chargers in Washington will raise fast-charger availability by 40% in Seattle and 15% across the state. In the same way, the addition of four chargers to Oregon's network of 815 DC fast chargers will promote fast-charger availability by 15% in Portland and 5% statewide.
