Kia expands affordable EV lineup with EV5, two new concepts

Kia plans to expand its lineup of affordable EVs with the introduction of the EV3 and EV4 next year, following the recent unveiling of the EV5. The automaker aims to address the barriers of high prices and limited charging infrastructure.

Kia's EV lineup, from left, EV6, EV4 concept car, EV5, EV3 concept car, and EV9. [KIA]

Kia will offer cheaper EV options, adding EV3 and EV4 on top of its latest EV5 in its EV family.

The Korean automaker unveiled the Kia EV5 for the Korean market on Thursday, and also the EV3 and EV4 concept cars that will be debuting next year to target the growing demand for budget-friendly EVs.

It comes as the EV pricing war intensifies and an attempt to keep its rivals in check including fast-growing BYD and Tesla’s anticipated release of Model 2.

Kia CEO Song Ho-sung speaks at a press event Thursday in Yeoju, Gyeonggi. [KIA]

EV5, which was introduced in China in August, is the cheapest model in Kia’s available lineup. Kia’s first pure EV was EV6 which was introduced in 2021 and EV9 launched earlier in the year.

“Two factors hinder the world’s quick transition to EVs, high price and lack of charging infrastructure,” said Kia CEO Song Ho-sung at a press event Thursday in Yeoju, Gyeonggi. “Kia will present a solution with our wide-ranging EV lineup priced from $30,000 to $80,000.”

Kia EV5 will debut in the Korean market in the first half of 2025. Kia will produce EV5s both in Korea and China.

The price of EV5 has not been decided yet for the Korean market, but it will likely be pricier than the Chinese version which has been set at 159,800 yuan ($21,900).

Kia's EV5 [KIA]

The Korean version will be coming with more expensive nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries compared to the Chinese version that used BYD’s LFP batteries.

Kia also unveiled EV3 and EV4 concept cars Thursday for the first time, which will be even cheaper than the EV5.

The EV3 compact SUV is like a mini version of EV9 with a sleeker design and Kia’s flagship tiger nose-like grille.

The EV4 sedan looks much like the EV6 but with a smaller size and sharper body.

Kia's EV4 concept car [KIA]

Kia's EV3 concept car [KIA]

The EV3 will be hitting the Korean road in early 2024, while EV4 at the latter part of next year.

“Kia is also developing EV2, which will be offered at lower than $35,000 globally,” Song added. “EV5 is just the beginning of our journey to EV transition toward our goal of 15 EV models by 2027, including a pick-up and possibly a mini car.”

Kia is also ramping up the charging network as part of efforts to expand its EV sales.

Kia said last week it will adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) on its vehicles starting in late 2024 in the United States.

It will allow Kia users to use around 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the country.

Kia also teamed up with six other global automakers to build 30,000 ultra-charging EV chargers by 2030 in the North American region.

Kia set its EV sales target of 1 million by 2026 and 1.6 million in 2030, grabbing 4 percent of the global market by the year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]