Kia is reportedly set to reveal the production version of its Sportage-sized EV5 at this year’s Chengdu motor show which commences August 25.
As reported by Korean Car Blog, the Kia EV5 will be built in China for the domestic market as well as export markets.
Kia head global product planning Hyunsik Park also confirmed in June the electric SUV will be built in left- and right-hand drive for global markets.
It’s not yet clear if it’ll come to Down Under, although Kia Australia says it’s keen for the EV5 if it’s made available.
In South Korea the EV5 will reportedly start at 50 million won (~A$59,000) and be available in standard- and long-range configurations.
The Chinese-market version of the EV5 will reportedly use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, whereas the export-market version will have a nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery.
The latter of these batteries will have a capacity of up to 82kWh, which is larger than the EV6‘s 77.4kWh battery pack, and offer up to 600km of range according to an undisclosed testing standard.
As previously reported, the EV5 will ride on a new platform designed for more affordable electric vehicles (EVs) rather than the E-GMP architecture currently underpinning the EV6 and EV9.
It’s not clear if it’ll be a standalone architecture, or a variation of the recently announced Integrated Modular Architecture (IMA).
It will lower-voltage (500V) platform, which suggests it won’t be able to hit the same charging speeds as cars built on the 800V E-GMP architecture.
Mr Park previously said the EV5 will measure around 4700mm long, making it a very similar size to the 4660mm-long Sportage currently on sale in Australia.
If it comes Down Under, the EV5 will compete with a growing pool of electric SUVs – led by the top-selling Tesla Model Y.
Kia has previously confirmed it plans to reveal 14 new electric cars between now and 2027.
Autocar recently reported Kia Europe marketing chief David Hilbert saying the brand will “have coverage in all major segments”, including passenger cars.
“All the major segments will be covered in some form [by 2027],” he said.
Mr Hilbert specifically mentioned the B-SUV segment in Europe and how it is now the largest segment there.
It currently fields the petrol-powered Stonic, but doesn’t have a rival to similarly sized electric SUVs like the Peugeot e-2008 and Jeep Avenger.
Such a model could reportedly wear the EV3 name, and Kia has hinted it could offer everything from an EV1 all the way up to the previously revealed EV9.
In 2021, Kia teased a range of upcoming EVs including a coupe, sedan, and what looked like a light hatchback.
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