The Kia Soul EV has become the latest model from the Korean brand to earn important certification for its outstanding whole-life environmental credentials.

TÜV Nord, an independent technical inspection organisation, has certified the new Kia Soul EV according to the ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) standard. LCA examines the environmental impact of both the car and the overall manufacturing process throughout its whole life, taking into account factors such as choice of materials, tailpipe emissions and recycling.

Comparing the Soul EV to its diesel counterpart currently on sale in Europe, the zero-emissions electric vehicle scored particularly strongly for 'Global Warming Potential', emitting 39.7% fewer greenhouse gases over the whole life of the vehicle, such as carbon dioxide and methane. The Soul EV also scored an improvement in 'Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential', limiting the amount of smog created by the vehicle's manufacturing process and by the vehicle itself throughout its life.

Kia's first TÜV Nord certification was earned in 2008 with the first-generation cee'd, and this year's certifications bring the total number of Kia models with ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) certification to 11