What's all this about?

Kia is chucking a huge amount of money into two strands of development between now and 2020 - it's spending $10.2 million (about £6.71m) on cutting CO₂ emissions by 25 per cent across its whole range in the next five years, while it is pumping a simply huge $2 billion (£1.32bn) into development work on partially autonomous models for 2020... and a 'self-driving' vehicle by 2030.

Right. Well, start with the green plan, then.

OK, Kia will expand its current range of four 'green cars' to 11 by 2020, and included in that will be full battery-electric (BEV) and hydrogen fuel cell (FCEV) vehicles. The company will also replace seven of its ten current petrol and diesel engines with next-generation, fuel-sipping powerplants. However, three hybrids are coming in 2016: an all-new HUV called the Niro and a couple of part-electric examples of the Optima saloon.

HUV?

Hybrid Utility Vehicle. The Niro has been developed separately from any other Kia product, meaning it has a bespoke platform that is designed to take on new drivetrains and ecologically-sound technologies. The first Niro, due out in late 2016, will be a mild hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), but later in its life cycle a full plug-in hybrid (PHEV) will appear. Nevertheless, the Niro HEV should be impressive - Kia is targeting less than 90g/km CO₂ emissions from its drivetrain, made up as it is of a 1.6-litre 'Kappa' direct injection petrol engine (GDI) with 105hp and 147Nm, which is mated to a 32kW electric motor and a 1.56kWh lithium-polymer battery. No total outputs are quoted by Kia as yet but drive will be sent to the wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Is it basically a Sportage with electric drive?

No, Kia is adamant this is an all-new vehicle, although as you can see from the sketches, it bears a lot of the fourth-gen Sportage's hallmarks, such as short overhangs, the 'tiger-nose' grille with separated headlights and a swept-back glasshouse. It should look great when it's fully revealed next year.

How about those Optimas?

There's a Hybrid (due out in early 2016 and badged 'EcoHybrid') and a Plug-in Hybrid (slated for late 2016 and badged 'EcoPlugin'). Both use a 2.0 GDI petrol engine making 156hp and 189Nm, with the HEV equipped with a 38kW electric motor, while the PHEV gets a slightly beefier 50kW item. No doubt about the difference in battery packs, though: the HEV has a 1.62kWh unit where the PHEV has a whopping 9.8kWh pack, which is about six times as powerful as the battery in the existing Optima Hybrid that is heading for replacement.

What does this mean for economy and emissions?

The HEV has 195hp in total and is around ten per cent more efficient than the car it will replace, so expect somewhere in the region of 60mpg and 100g/km CO₂. The PHEV delivers a healthy 205hp at 6,000rpm, but don't worry, it's a proper eco-warrior - as well as a 27-mile fully electric range, Kia is targeting an economy figure of 118.9mpg.

Are they easy to spot externally?

Aside from the badging, look for the smoothed-off active grille (it opens when the engine needs cooling and then closes at other times to improve aerodynamic efficiency), extra silver bright work around the rear bumper, grille surround and wheel arches and what is described as a 'clean, metallic blue' finish; presumably other colours will be available. The PHEV also has chrome side sill mouldings and its own design of alloy wheels. Inside, the HEV has a less compromised boot and more space for passengers, while the PHEV gets a bespoke instrument cluster to show its hybrid running details and a battery charge indicator on top of the dashboard - allowing owners to check the battery's level from outside the car.

This all sounds exciting. So tell me about the self-driving cars.

Under the branding Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Kia wants its road cars to have partial autonomy by 2020 - including Highway Driving Assist (HDA), which uses lane guidance and smart cruise control to maintain distance and position on the motorway, as well as being capable of automatically altering its speed for varying limits and even helping with safe overtaking manoeuvres; and Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), in which the car keeps a safe distance from the vehicle in front in moderate to heavy traffic jams, taking at least some of the misery out of stop-start driving for the humans on board. Kia is also working on its own smart parking systems, including one that can be operated from outside the car on a key, like the software Mercedes-Benz and BMW have developed for their super-luxury motors.

But these aren't robocars...

No, but by 2030, Kia will have a fully automated car on the market. It will utilise vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication to ensure the car can communicate directly and independently with its surroundings. Which might perhaps include self-driving Volvos and that weird-looking Google car... and possibly also cybernetic minions of Skynet, too.

Matt Robinson - 17 Nov 2015