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- EV2 will be practical and accessible, opening up EVs to a wider audience
- Set to cost €30,000 (around $31,400/AU$49,400) it will be Kia’s best-value EV
- Kia’s PV5 electric van will arrive later this year
Although not quite as bombastic as its inaugural EV Day in 2023, where Kia mapped out its plans to accelerate its EV offering with the reveal of EV2 through to EV5, its most recent showcase confirmed its commitment to electrification… and revealed more about its progress.
On stage was the production-ready Kia EV4, both in saloon (or sedan) and hatchback guise, as well as an EV2 show car that gives us our closest look yet at what the smallest and most affordable Kia EV will look like.
Boasting chunky crossover exterior styling and an equally funky interior, it measures around the same size as the upcoming Renault 4 E Tech and the current Mini Aceman, with sales expected to begin in South Korea and Europe next year.
Whether the EV2 makes its way to the US is still to be confirmed, although the compact B-segment crossover isn’t particularly popular Stateside and Kia revealed its most affordable EV will be manufactured in Slovakia, making it very unlikely.
Speaking on the interior, Kia’s head of design Karim Habib explained that his team played on a “picnic in the city” theme, whereby owners can slide either the front seats all the way rearwards and stretch out, or slide them forwards and fold up the rears seats to take advantage of on the vehicle’s completely flat floor.
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Those rear seats also slide rearwards, almost into the boot or trunk, while the seat cushions flip upwards to create a cavernous chill-out zone inside.
That said, Habib revealed that while he was fighting for the flip up seats in the rear to feature in the production vehicle, having the front two seats on such a lengthy sliding rail would likely not be seen on the finished product.
Similarly, the neat ‘suicide doors’, which are hinged on the A and C-pillars to create a massive aperture when opened, also won’t make it to production, with Habib stating they are “too heavy and too expensive” at the moment, but that he hoped Kia would introduce them to a future model soon.
What’s more, the concept showcased a projector system that can beam messages onto a dedicated area on the windows.
Built on the same E-GMP platform as the remainder of Kia’s line-up, the EV2 will feature the same 400V electrical architecture as the slightly larger EV3, which means a 10-80% charging time of around 30 minutes.
However, it will be among the first Kia products to introduce a new Lithium-ion Phosphate (LFP) battery pack when it arrives next year.
Full details on the exact battery range is due to be revealed at a later date, but it will likely sport the same 43.3kW and 51.5kW variants as those confirmed for Kia’s PBV van line-up.
Kia bets big on that #vanlife
While we still await on news of a potential EV1, tipped to be the smallest and cheapest of Kia’s full electric vehicle line-up, as well as an EV7 and EV8 to plug the remaining gaps, the Korean marque has confirmed it is heading full speed into the world of electrified Car Derived Vans – or CDVs to coin one of marque’s many acronyms.
Predominantly aimed at the European, Canadian and Korean domestic commercial vehicle markets, where Cargo, Crew and Chassis Cab options will be available later this year, the platform has been designed to be as modular as possible.
This means it can be optioned as anything from wheelchair accessible vehicle to a freezer box van.
Better still, the PV5 is also designed for private customers wanting masses of load-lugging space, with a Passenger variant featuring three-row seating for up to seven, as well as the ability to easily drop seats for bulky lifestyle cargo.
Kia confirmed that a “Light Camper” variant of this model will also be available at launch, with a more serious camper van conversion in the pipeline. Expect that to come with folding beds, kitchens and other amenities.
Not ones to go lightly when entering a new market, Kia has also created a range of ‘Add Gear’ accessories, which include cup holders, coat hooks, trash bins and cool boxes, all of which either clip into place or slide onto dedicated rails in the cabin.
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This allows potential buyers to instantly customize the interior of their PV5 to suit their needs.
Interestingly, the infotainment system found in Kia’s passenger cars has been ditched for an Android Automotive-based system that the company says helps open up the possibility of hosting third-party applications, such as Samsung’s IoT Pro, which will help small business and fleet managers work more efficiently on the move.
It is still unclear how this will work in the Passenger versions, but it could open up the possibility of more Android Automotive integration into future Kia cars, vastly increasing the number of available entertainment apps that are available for free download.
With an electric range of up to 250 miles, 30-minute fast charging and a hugely competitive starting price of €35,000 (around $36,600 / AU$58,00), Kia hopes it can make an impact in the commercial vehicle sector.