Kia prepares for electric van launches

At the CES Show Kia has revealed a concept range of electric vans that will be the foundation of its commercial vehicle sales from 2025.

The Kia PV5 will be the first electric van to be launched in 2025, offered with panel van, high-roof and chassis cab bodies as well as a minibus variant targetting ride hailing and taxi services.

The PV5 will then be followed by a larger PV7 electric van and a compact PV1 urban van.

All the vans are underpinned by Kia’s Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) architecture, and Kia has developed ‘Easy Swap’ technology for customer flexibility - a single vehicle chassis can be used to fulfil multiple needs through a variety of interchangeable upper bodies, or ‘life modules’ that can be connected to the base vehicle via a hybrid electromagnetic and mechanical coupling technology, turning the PBV into a taxi during the day, to a delivery van at night, and a camper on weekends.

“Kia’s PBV business represents our vision of going beyond the traditional concept of automobiles by fulfilling the unmet needs of diverse customers and communities through optimised vehicles and services catering to specific market and business circumstances,” said Ho Sung Song, Kia President and CEO.

“Kia PBVs will be an enabler of business innovation thanks to our customer-centric management system, EV mass production expertise, and the Hyundai Motor Group’s rapidly developing SDx strategy and related future businesses. We are excited to show that we are fully prepared to become the first mover in the global PBV market,” he added.

To take full advantage of the opportunities enabled by PBVs, Kia will launch a dedicated business system, encapsulating every aspect of the process, from the product line-up to integration of software solutions, and global partnerships.

The product line-up will be developed based on customer input and feedback to create more tailored, mission-specific solutions.

Through collaboration with global conversion partners, Kia will be able to offer conversion models for various PBV line-ups.