Kia pushes back SDV launch and lifts investment by 30%

Kia has delayed the launch of what it considers its software-defined vehicle (SDV) by approximately one year to 2028, while bumping its investment plans for 2026 through 2029 by 30% to KRW41.4tr (US$28bn). The company’s shares fell 5.5% on the announcement, against a broader market decline of 1.6%.

The revised timeline puts Kia’s first so-called SDV—equipped with semi-automated driving capability for highways—in 2028, with a more advanced city-capable version following in early 2029. Kia said it will invest more than US$500m specifically in physical AI capabilities and vision-language-action models, and to this end is deepening its partnerships with Google DeepMind and Nvidia to accelerate development.

The delay comes just months after the December 2025 resignation of Song Chang-hyeon, who had led the group’s SDV strategy up until that point. His replacement, Park Minwoo, comes from Nvidia and Tesla. Both Kia and Hyundai have been characterised by analysts as laggards relative to Tesla and Chinese rivals on software integration and autonomous driving features.

Beyond software, Kia is funding electrification efforts, new business development, and manufacturing technology including the planned deployment of humanoid robots at its Georgia facility from 2029. Hyundai, which has already announced robot deployment at its Savannah plant from 2028, aims to reach 30,000 units of annual robot production capacity around the same time. 

Kia cut its 2030 electric vehicle (EV) sales target by approximately 20% to one million units, citing weaker demand and the removal of EV subsidies in the US last year. It lifted its hybrid target by around 60% to 1.1 million units by 2030 and trimmed its overall 2030 sales goal to 4.13 million vehicles—still a substantial 30% increase from last year’s 3.14 million but a more cautious framing than previous guidance.

At the same time, Hyundai Chief Executive José Muñoz has noted a positive uptick in electrified vehicle sales during Q1 2025, due in large part to higher gasoline prices related to the Strait of Hormuz blockade.