Kia is to launch the third generation of its Soul EV this year, this time riding on the new Kona/Niro platform and boasting more range than ever.  An optional bigger battery pack shall bring the electric Korean as far as 500 kilometres on a charge.

The news have been reported by media outlets in South Korea, that set the launch of the new Soul EV for the second half of this year. The electric car is to utilise the new architecture that already underpin the Kia Niro EV as well as the freshly launched Hyundai Kona SUV.

Just like the latter, the Kia Soul EV is to feature two battery options. The standard pack with 39.2 kWh as well as the larger 64 kWh power pack that is to last for close to 500 kilometres. The current Soul EV runs on a 30 kWh battery, so even the new standard is an upgrade to a range of up to 300 km.

The launch of Hyundai’s Kona also marked a move away from ChaDeMo towards CCS for the Koreans. While nothing has been specified for the new Soul EV, it is likely it too will use the Europe-driven charging standard CCS.

insideevs.com