Kia is broadening the Niro line-up with a new plug-in hybrid version which has been unveiled at the Geneva motor Show.
The Niro Plug-in hybrid follows the launch of the hybrid crossover last year and blends an 8.9kWh lithium-polymer battery pack with the brand’s 1.6-litre GDI petrol engine.
That combination, Kia claims, should be enough to deliver an all-electric range in excess of over 34 miles (55km), with CO2 emissions of less than 30 g/km. This compares with a figure of 88g/km for the hybrid.
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The Niro will be the first plug-in compact crossover on the market, with Kia keen to cash in on a predicted sales boom that could see annual European sales of PIH models grow to 600,000 within six years.
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The 8.9kWH battery is much bigger than the 1.56kWh pack used in the hybrid version and is paired with a 44.5kW electric motor (up from 32kW in the hybrid). In tandem with the 104bhp GDI engine, these will endow the Niro Plug-in hybrid with a total of 139bhp and 265Nm of torque, allowing the new model to accelerate from 0-62mph in 10.8 seconds. This compares to 11.5 for the hybrid. Toyota’s Prius Plug-in does 0-62mph in 11.1 seconds.