Electric Kia Soul confirmed for UK
* Priced from around £22,000
* Due on sale October 2014
The electric Kia Soul is due to go on sale in the UK in October 2014, with prices set to rival those of other electric vehicles.
Kia's UK commercial director Yaser Shabsogh said that the electric hatchback will 'be similarly priced to the rivals - low-to-mid twenty thousands'.
However, Kia has yet to decide whether it will include the battery in the sale price, or lease it, which would bring the initial cost down.
Shabsogh said that Kia UK doesn't anticipate huge sales numbers: 'It is not going to be huge volumes - it might be a hundred or a couple of hundred and obviously it will focus on metropolitan areas like London.'
Instead, Kia sees it as a branding opportunity. 'We know we want it [in the UK] - we have the technology and we want to show it off. We see it as a huge branding opportunity.'
The bigger question for the manufacturer is the support network that an electric car would require, with Shabsogh saying: 'We would definitely have some specialist dealers that can charge and service it.'
The conventionally powered Kia Soul appeared at this year's New York motor show, and is due on sale at the start of 2014.
