Kia to install Samsung’s SmartThings controls in electric vans

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Kia to install Samsung’s SmartThings controls in electric vans

Published: 27 Feb. 2025, 17:00

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

From left, Kim Sang-dae, vice president at Kia's platform beyond vehicle business division, and Park Chan-woo, head of Samsung Electronics' business-to-business solution team, take a photo after signing an agreement on applying the electronics maker's SmartThings service into Kia's EVs at its EV Day event in Tarragona, Spain, on Feb. 24. [KIA]

TARRAGONA, Spain — Kia reached an agreement with Samsung Electronics to collaborate on making cars smarter, potentially enabling drivers to control their workplace devices from their vehicles.

Executives from the two companies inked a memorandum of understanding agreeing to apply Samsung’s SmartThings Pro service to Kia’s purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) at the automaker’s EV Day event, elaborating its EV strategies, in Tarragona, Spain, on Monday.

Samsung’s SmartThings Pro, an enterprise version of its smart home platform targeted B2B (business-to-business) solutions, aims to use AI to connect and manage devices in commercial and residential spaces, such as controlling TV at home, lighting up an office and turning on an air conditioner.

For instance, if a business owner who runs a bakery sets his navigation destination to a nearby wholesale market, the car can automatically turn on Refrigerator Mode to keep ingredients in its cabin fresh. With the activation of Work mode after shopping, it will automatically conduct a to-do checklist before he arrives at his bakery, such as turning on the air conditioner, checking inventories and making a must-buy shopping list.

Turn on Get Off Work Mode in the vehicle after closing the bakery, and the store turns off any devices and deploys safety locks. It monitors the store and sends alarms to the owner if anything abnormal is detected.

The service will be applied to Kia’s PBVs by mid-2026. PBVs are built on a flexible architecture with swappable bodies and are designed for specific uses, such as shuttling and last-mile delivery.

Kia electric vans to have Samsung's SmartThings experience. [KIA]

The implementation can offer drivers the ability to “easily monitor their workplace even while driving” and could play a pivotal role as the “best solution under their business environment to maximize convenience and profitability,” Kia said.

Kia and Samsung will cooperate on developing a plug-and-play feature that can allow customers to control and manage devices like sensors and lights through in-car infotainment systems or tablets.

“After we introduced the concept PV5 at CES 2024, lots of companies have contacted us for cooperation, and Samsung Electronics was one of them,” said Kim Sang-dae, head of Kia's PBV Business Planning Division, during an interview in Spain on Monday.

“Kia is in talks with over 100 companies globally for potential deals regarding our PBVs.”

At the EV Day event, Kia unveiled PV5, its very first PBV, and strategies to explore its business in the van market. Kia redefined PBVs as “platform beyond vehicles” in its goal of offering cars that are not only transportation, but also space for stays and entertainment.

Kia CEO Song Ho-sung announced he plans to bring in a total of 11 PBVs by 2030, including the PV5 and PV7, the launch of which is slated for 2027.

The carmaker aims to capture 20 percent of the light commercial vehicle market in terms of electric vehicles, selling 250,000 PBVs by 2030.

“Only 6 percent of the current light commercial vehicle market is EVs, and I believe PBVs are the next game changer in the EV industry, especially here in Europe,” Song added. “Kia, with PV5s, will be leading the paradigm shift.”

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]