Kia Naimo electric concept

Kia has revealed its Naimo (pronounced neh-mo) electric concept car at the Seoul Motor Show.

Powered by a motor producing 107 bhp (80 kW / 109 PS) and 280 Nm of torque, it’s claimed that the Naimo will achieve a top speed of 93 mph (150 km/h).

Kia Naimo Concept (2011) Front SideKia Naimo Concept (2011) Rear Side
Kia Naimo Concept (2011) Interior 1Kia Naimo Concept (2011) Interior 2

Not bad outright performance, but the more relevant issue for any electric vehicle is always going to be how far it can travel before running out of juice.

Thanks to a 27 kWh lithium ion polymer battery pack, which is housed under the boot floor, the Kia should be good for a range of around 124 miles (200 km). By comparison, that’s slightly more than a Nissan Leaf manages.

Recharging time is another area that has clearly received plenty of attention, because the result is that the Naimo’s battery can be restored to 80 percent of its capacity in a reasonable 25 minutes. A full recharge would take five and a half hours, though.

Promising figures then, but the disappointing news is that this particular concept isn’t going to make it to production. Rather, Kia will be using it as a test-bed to help develop future models.

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