Telematics-equipped Kia vehicles from the model year 2022 onwards are eligible to get over-the-air (OTA) updates. The latest batch of updates available includes 153 changes, with music streaming service SoundCloud, enhancements to the EV Route Planner and new voice commands all added.
Using the Kia Connect App, customers can benefit from a range of digital features and services from the Kia Connect Store that can elevate the vehicle’s capabilities and performance, with the vehicle being updated remotely via OTA. A bandwidth that is three times wider than before now enables OTA updates to be completed faster.
The latest updates available are designed to enhance and improve the in-car experience. Driver speed assistance warnings can now be deactivated simply by using the mute button at the steering wheel, while a split screen for the EV Route Planner provides easier viewing of arrival time, state-of-charge and charging point information.
“The array of intelligent changes available in this latest update is strong proof that over-the-air updates deliver significant improvements that enable the vehicle to get better throughout the ownership experience,” said Sjoerd Knipping, Vice President of Marketing and Product at Kia Europe and Managing Director of Kia Connect. “At Kia, we are always looking at ways to make our vehicles better, and our customers now get to enjoy these improvements several times a year, without having to do anything.”
Wireless technology is used to download the latest available software, and, once the download is complete and the ignition is turned off, a confirmation window appears on the infotainment screen. SoundCloud is a leading music streaming service offering more than 375 million tracks from 40 million artists. In Kia vehicles, SoundCloud joins Amazon Music – now supported by voice recognition – as the second method for music streaming.
The Kia EV Route Planner, one of the first updates made available through the Kia Connect Store, enables the vehicle’s navigation system to detect charging stations along the route and add them as waypoints automatically. Now, it is available in a split screen, to give the driver an improved overview of key charging information. It can also now automatically add charging stations to the route if the set destination cannot be reached with the vehicle’s current charging level, resulting in faster route calculation.
Other key updates include:
- Battery conditioning being activated when the customer searches for charging stations via voice recognition
- Voice control that supports new commands for flight information, date/time, ambient lighting and cluster information
- Changing the priority related to the parking button; when the parking button is on, the nearest EV station is displayed with a higher priority than the parking icon
An initial one-year trial bundles two free OTA updates for the vehicle’s navigation maps and infotainment. After that, a subscription service is available on the Kia Connect Store from 89 EUR per year, with the update packages delivered twice per year. Prices may vary depending on the country.
