Making its world premiere at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show today is the all-new Kia Naimo, an electric crossover concept penned by the automaker’s design team in South Korea and characterized by its simple lines and muscular stance.

The simple overall design is accentuated by a number of striking key details, such as the wrap-around windscreen and asymmetric sunroof, and the front and rear dot-style LED head- and positioning-lamps.

Kia’s design team also made use of innovative technology to give the car a premium feel and to ensure the car’s exterior remained uncluttered.  For example, the Naimo has no traditional wiper blade on the windscreen--instead it employs a high-intensity air jet at the base of the windscreen that performs an ‘air wiper’ function.  Conventional door mirrors have also been replaced with miniature cameras installed in the A-pillars.

Inside, the theme is tranquility. Alluding to this are hand-crafted materials throughout, such as the oak trim, paper roof lining and transparent organic LED instrument panel.

2011 Kia Naimo Concept

2011 Kia Naimo Concept

Notably, the Naimo is also the third electric car concept to be unveiled by Kia in the past year, the previous being the Ray and Pop concept cars. Power for the compact four-seat crossover a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor with a maximum output of 110 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque--enough to reach a top speed of 93 mph.

A twin-pack 27 kWh battery is located under the boot floor and uses innovative Lithium Ion Polymer technology that offers numerous advantages over other battery types. Equipped with this battery, the Naimo sports a driving range of 124 miles on a single charge. Charging takes about five hours using a regular household power outlet but according to Kia, special quick charge systems can fill the batteries to 80 percent of their overall capacity in just 25 minutes.

The best part is that the Naimo is no show pony. The concept will now join Kia’s growing test fleet of hybrid, electric and fuel-cell vehicles being extensively driven in widely varying conditions to develop future production models with zero or significantly reduced emissions.