KOREAN car maker Kia charged into this year's Geneva Motor Show with the European debut of its first electric vehicle.

The Soul EV was revealed as the company took the wraps off a stunning sports car concept called the GT4 Stinger.

With a new Soul only weeks away from arriving in the UK the electric version will be on sale in the autumn.

It will be Kia's first battery powered car with a claimed range of up to 125 miles.

The lithium-ion cells used to power the car have been developed specifically to give the Soul EV a rapid charge time of only 25 minutes - twice as fast as that of other electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Renault ZOE.

The Soul EV is likely to cost from around £20,000 after the Government's £5,000 grant for electric vehicles making it some £3,000 more than the conventionally powered model which use 1.6-litre diesel and petrol engines.

The GT4 Stinger is a rear wheel drive V6 concept car developed by Kia's California design centre under the direction of style chief Peter Schreyer.

Kia says the car is a demonstration of its thinking for a high performance model which may be introduced into its line up in the next few years.