Kia creates 'Purple M' start-up for improved e-mobility services

Kia Motors has announced the creation of ‘Purple M’, a new mobility service start-up designed to offer electric-powered mobility services.

Created with CODE42.ai, a Korean technology firm focusing on autonomous Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS), Purple M will create new concepts for mobility services.

The combination of Kia's mobility expertise with CODE42.ai's IT technology is expected to create a range of synergies for developing new TaaS services for customers. ‘Purple M’ will use CODE42.ai’s proprietary Urban Mobility Operating System (UMOS), a mobility platform which integrates autonomous vehicle and air transportation services including e-hailing, fleet management, demand-responsive shuttle and smart logistics.

In spite of increasing consumer interest in EVs, mobility services are still driven primarily by internal combustion engine vehicles, creating opportunities for an EV mobility ‘first mover’. ‘Purple M’ aims to establish a comprehensive and flexible e-mobility service platform, and lead the development of a sustainable EV ecosystem by deploying EVs.

‘Purple M’ will establish collaborative partnerships with specialist providers to develop a flexible e-mobility infrastructure and offer a wide range of services to a broad customer base. In particular, ‘Purple M’ aims to contribute to the revitalisation of Korea’s domestic mobility industry by cooperating with various mobility market players, while presenting new standards for mobility business models in the post-coronavirus era.

"With the newly established ‘Purple M’, Kia will be reborn as a leader for the era of e-mobility," said Ho Sung Song, CEO and President of Kia. “CODE42.ai is a leading Korean company in the field of future innovation technology, and is the best partner for successfully promoting a differentiated e-mobility service business."