- EV2 will be practical and accessible, opening electric vehicles to a wider audience
- To cost € 30,000 (around $ 31,400 / $ 49,400 in), it will be Kia’s best EV value
- Kia’s PV5 electric van will arrive later this year
Although it was not as explosive as its first EV day in 2023, where Kia traced its plans to accelerate its EV offer with the revelation of EV2 to TO EV5, its last showcase confirmed its commitment to electrification … and revealed more on its progress.
On stage, Kia EV4 ready for production, both in the living room (or the sedan) and the tailgate shape, as well as an EV2 exhibition car which gives us our closest look to what the smallest and affordable kia EV will look like.
Benefiting from an external cross style and an equally funky interior, it measures about the same size as the next Renault 4 tech and the current mini Aceman, with sales that should start in South Korea and Europe next year.
That the EV2 goes to the United States is still to be confirmed, although the compact crossing of segment B is not particularly popular in the United States and Kia revealed that its most affordable EV will be manufactured in Slovakia, which makes it very unlikely.
Speaking inside, Kia’s design chief Karim Habib explained that his team had played on a theme “picnic in the city”, by which the owners can slide the front seats backwards and stretch, or slide them forward and fold the rear seats to enjoy the completely flat floor of the vehicle.
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These rear seats also slide backwards, almost in the trunk or trunk, while the seat cushions turn upwards to create a cavernous relaxation area inside.
That said, Habib revealed that while he was fighting for the back seats at the rear to appear in the production vehicle, having the two front seats on such a long sliding rail would probably not be seen on the finished product.
Likewise, the “ suicide doors ” neat, which are articulated on pillars A and C to create a massive opening when they are open, will not go to production, with Habib declaring that they are “too heavy and too expensive” for the moment, but that he hoped that Kia would soon present them to a future model.
In addition, the concept has presented a projector system that can radiate messages on a dedicated area on windows.
Built on the same E-GMP platform as the rest of the KIA range, the EV2 will include the same 400 V electrical architecture as the slightly larger EV3, which means a charging time of 10 to 80% of around 30 minutes.
However, he will be among the first KIA products to introduce a new battery of lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) upon his arrival next year.
Complete details on the exact battery range should be revealed on a later date, but it will probably wear the same variants of 43.3 kW and 51.5 kW as those confirmed for the range of KIA PBV van.
Kia bets very large on this #vanlife
While we are still waiting for the news of a potential EV1, which is the smallest and cheapest in the full range of Kia electric vehicles, as well as an EV7 and EV8 to connect the remaining gaps, the Korean brand has confirmed that it runs the full speed in the world of electric electric vans – or CDVs to mutate one of the many brand acronyms.
Mainly intended for European, Canadian and Korean national commercial vehicle markets, where cargo, crew and chassis cabin options will be available later this year, the platform has been designed to be as modular as possible.
This means that it can be optionized as anything, from the vehicle accessible in a wheelchair to a freezing in freezing box.
Better still, the PV5 is also designed for private customers wishing masses of loading space, with a variant of passengers with three -row seats up to seven, as well as the possibility of easily laying seats for a bulky lifestyle freck.
Kia confirmed that a “light camp” variant of this model will also be available at launch, with a more serious motorhome conversion in the pipeline. Expect that it comes with folding beds, kitchens and other amenities.
Not those to go slightly when entering a new market, Kia has also created a range of accessories “ Add equipment ”, which include cup holders, coat hooks, garbage cans and cool boxes, which all slip into place or slide on dedicated rails in the cabin.
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This allows potential buyers to instantly personalize the interior of their PV5 to meet their needs.
Interestingly, the infotainment system found in Kia tourist cars has been abandoned for a system based on Android automobile which, according to the company, helps to open the possibility of hosting third -party applications, such as the IoT Pro of Samsung, which will help small businesses and fleet managers to work more effectively in moving.
We still do not know how it will work in passenger versions, but that could open the possibility of greater Android automobile integration in future KIA cars, considerably increasing the number of entertainment applications available for free download.
With an electric range of up to 250 miles, a quick load of 30 minutes and an extremely competitive starting price of € 35,000 (around $ 36,600 / 58.00 in), Kia hopes that this can have an impact in the commercial vehicle sector.
