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Kia Soul EV Availability Expanding to Five More States

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2015 Kia Soul EV

The 2015 Kia Soul EV

After its successful launch in California late last year, Kia has announced that it will be expanding the Soul EV’s availability to five new states: Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii.

According to Kia, there are over 1,800 charging stations combined in these five states, giving them the necessary EV infrastructure.  Select, yet-to-be-announced Kia retailers in each state will be certified to sell and service the Kia Soul EV, and customers will have access to these facilities’ charging stations. The authorized Kia dealerships will be announced closer to when the Soul EV begins going on sale in these five states.

Kia says that the Soul EV will be making its way to additional markets in 2016.

“From the inception of the Soul EV program, Kia’s sales strategy has been progressive and pragmatic,” said Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning, KMA.  “With the level of demand and supporting infrastructure in the state, California was a natural place to start, but we’ve been carefully studying other markets.  Between consumer reaction to the Soul EV and growing infrastructure programs in these five states, this is a logical – and exciting – next step in our rollout plan.”

The expansion is slated to kick off during the second quarter in Georgia, which has been home to a one billion dollar Kia manufacturing plant in West Point since 2006. Using the Soul EV’s standard UVO EV Services telematics system, drivers will be able to locate any of the state’s 284 charging stations.

Following the Soul EV’s Peach State debut, the electric crossover will begin selling in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Texas this June. According to a statement from Kia Motors America, the automaker “continues to investigate the possibility of offering the Soul EV in other states as well.”