Last March, Kia unveiled a new electric vehicle, the EV5, in concept form. Now, photos of the production version have appeared online, confirming that the model that will first appear on Chinese roads is virtually the same as the one we saw in concept form.
The fact that the images have been revealed is due to the process required for vehicle certification in China. The latter requires images of the model to be posted on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The images were first picked up by the Autohome website.
According to information published on Chinese government websites, the EV5 has a span of about 181.7 inches, a few centimetres shorter than the well-known EV6. This production version will make its official debut in 10 days at the Chengdu Auto Show in China.
The model will be produced in China, and the first sales will follow later this year.
Now for the big question: what about our market? That remains unclear at the moment. When the concept was unveiled in March, Kia stated that the model would be sold outside of China, but no mention was made of a presence on the North American market. It was stated that announcements regarding other markets would be made in due course.
Kia plans to have 14 electric vehicles in its lineup by 2027. It plans to launch at least two per year starting this year. We already saw the EV9 SUV in the spring, which will be sold here as a 2024 model.
Most of these vehicles will be based on Hyundai's E-GMP (Electric-Global Modular Platform). This has already been used for the EV6 and EV9, and will soon be used for the EV5.
We'll be keeping a close eye on the EV5's debut, as well as any announcements regarding its possible commercialization, in Canada.