Kia sees near-term market challenges but sticks to 1.6 million annual EV sales target by 2030

TAIPEI (Reuters) - South Korean car maker Kia expects challenging market conditions in the near term due in part to governments' policies but will stick to its target of selling 1.6 million electric vehicles annually by 2030, a senior executive said.

"We're not pushing volume to market. Especially this year, the market is changing very rapidly and there are so many uncertainties," Kevin Ahn, president and CEO of Kia Asia Pacific, said at an event in Taipei on Wednesday to showcase the automaker's EV lineup.

"But our long term target is for 2030, 1.6 million EVs," he said. "On the way there, there will be some chasms, there will be some difficulties, some volumes going down because of the market conditions and government policies."

Kia is an affiliate of compatriot Hyundai Motor.

Ahn declined to comment on the impact on the overall market from import tariffs of up to 45% imposed by the European Union on Chinese-made EVs, or from the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president.

"Recently the U.S. has finished their election and there are big changes, expectations. So it's too early to discuss those kinds of issues," Ahn said, adding Kia plans to assemble EVs at its plant in the U.S. state of Georgia.

Automakers are bracing for President-elect Trump to impose new tariffs on vehicles from Mexico and potentially from other countries and to reverse many existing EV-friendly policies.

Kia started making EVs in China this year and plans to make small EVs in Europe too, Ahn said.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing)