Kia's electric sports car concept Vision Meta Tourismo has reportedly been developed to a stage close to mass production. The industry is also watching the possibility that the vehicle could serve as an electric successor to the Kia Stinger sports sedan.

Electrek reported on May 11 that Kia global design chief Karim Habib (카림 하비브) said of the Vision Meta Tourismo fastback version, "We already built a model that is 90 percent ready for production."

Vision Meta Tourismo is an electric sports car concept that Kia first unveiled in South Korea last year. It later drew attention after appearing on the global stage at Milan Design Week held last month.

The vehicle features a low and wide body proportion and an aerodynamics-focused design. It takes the form of a future-oriented sports sedan based on an electric vehicle platform, and some in the market interpret it as essentially an electrified successor to the Stinger.

The timing of actual mass production has not been decided. Habib said it will go into production when it can be made at a reasonable cost, explaining that the biggest constraint is the burden of manufacturing costs for high-performance electric vehicles. He said the cost of building a pure electric sports car remains high and that securing price competitiveness is an important task at present.

Vision Meta Tourismo is seen as more than a simple show car, with a strong emphasis on presenting Kia's next-generation design strategy. Habib stressed that the model is a key milestone showing the future direction of Kia's new design philosophy, Opposites United.

Kia explained that the vehicle was designed based on three core principles: a performance-oriented driving experience, an immersive digital interface, and lounge-like interior space and comfort.

The interior design also seeks to differentiate itself from existing sports sedans. The vehicle applies a joystick controller, a virtual gear shifter, button-type launch control and virtual engine sound. Kia said the interface reflects a game console and arcade sensibility and targets younger generations.

A new type of steering wheel is also fitted, and Kia introduced it as its vision for a next-generation intuitive driver interface.

Driving modes are made up of three types, including Speedster, Dreamer and Gamer. In Speedster mode, an immersive driving experience is implemented using a wide-angle augmented reality head-up display and lighting and sound effects, while Dreamer mode focuses on an interface linked to AR glasses in an urban environment. Gamer mode is designed to provide a virtual racing experience while the vehicle is stationary.

Kia said it does not intend to completely abandon the potential of the sports sedan market even amid an SUV-centric sales structure. Habib said, "Kia has a history of making cars like the Stinger," and explained that "Meta Tourismo is a new sports sedan idea for the gamer generation."

The industry is also discussing the possibility that the vehicle could be launched as the Kia EV7 or EV8 under future electric vehicle lineup strategy. Kia has not officially specified a concrete model name so far.

Separately, Kia is also pushing to launch the small electric car EV1 by 2027. The market views Vision Meta Tourismo as a symbolic model that will test Kia's possibility of re-entering the electric sports sedan market beyond an SUV-centric portfolio.