Robert De Niro Is Helping Kia Promote The E-Niro

We’d love to have been in the boardroom when this idea was first brought up. In a what you do there, I see it advertising deal of epic proportions, Kia has managed to snare two-time Academy Award-winner Robert De Niro to promote the…E-Niro.

Is it genius? Is it a little cringey? We’ll let you thrash that one out in the comments, but we’re leaning towards the former.

As part of the deal, the star of Taxi Driver, The Godfather Part II and - of course - petrolhead-favourite Ronin will appear in E-Niro adverts on TV, print and the Internet.

“Kia’s partnership with De Niro will draw on the actor’s inimitable character and sense of humour to draw attention to the e-Niro’s numerous benefits,” said Artur Martins, Kia Europe’s vice president of marketing.

As for the car, it’s available with either a 39.2kWh or 64kWh battery pack. Opt for the latter, and you’ll have a range of 301 miles - more than a Jaguar I-Pace. It’s not as quick as the much posher and more expensive Jaguar (or the more recently revealed Mercedes EQC and Audi E-tron, for that matter), but it’s not slow either: the E-Niro with the larger battery will do 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds. Prices are expected to start under £30,000, with sales commencing at the end of the year.