South Korea and its leading companies are positioning themselves to compete in the steadily expanding global electric vehicle (EV) market that promises to change the way cars are made and what people and governments need from their vehicles. The domestic unveiling of the Kia Motors Corp.'s Soul EV earlier this week, which is competitively priced vis-a-vis its rivals as well as having better range and looks and drives like a normal combustion engined vehicle, can be seen as a sign that the country's No. 2 carmaker is serious about catching up to rivals who have a three to four year head start in the global market.