TA-DAH. We told you Kia would make VANS – and here they are.
Mid-size panel vans, dubbed PV5, will hit the road from early 2026.
We told you Kia would make VANS – and here they are
The PV5’s cockpit has desk-like vibes with a big flat surface, full-width display screens and a steering wheel that folds up for use as a LAMP
Small PV3 city vans and large PV7 cargo vans follow later.
They will be electric, of course, with ultra-fast charging, high-tech cabins and hands-free cargo loading from one van to another.
They will also be sensibly priced, from £34k.
Kia UK boss Paul Philpott promised: “We are very real about our future in the electric van market. To break through we need to have competitively priced products.”
Ford won’t be worried by the news. Transit is untouchable.
But for others, Kia’s arrival in the van space will go down like a cup of cold sick.
The Koreans will start small with 40 to 60 dealers across the UK and a modest first-year sales target of around 5,000 vans.
That’s what I reckon anyway.
They’ll earn their stripes and then grow, step by step, just as they have with cars.
Philpott added: “It’s a big opportunity for us over a period of time.
“But we have to establish the foundations first.
“If you think you are going to come in with some really good electric van product and go from zero to No1 within three years you’re mad.
“We have to build relationships with fleet customers, business customers, establish the expertise and grow it over time.
“The strength of the Kia brand will help us. People know us.”
Right, let’s talk PV5.
The standard panel van is 4.5 metres long and front-wheel drive.
There will be longer ones (4.7 metres), high-roof versions (allowing drivers to stand up in the cargo area), people movers and a chassis cab for conversions. Think tippers and so on.
One concept shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a Robotaxi called PV5-R.
That won’t be happening any time soon. Nor will PV1, a self-driving delivery van. But we like PV5.
The cockpit has desk-like vibes. By that I mean a big flat surface, full-width display screens and a steering wheel that folds up for use as a LAMP.
Over-the-air software updates will keep you ahead of the curve.
Fresh thinking
Satnav location, contacts, charge status and other data can be shared van-to-van and back at base.
If you’re running low on juice, another PV5 can stop and top you up.
Integrated rail systems in the cargo area allow for cabinets or frames full of stuff to be switched from one van to another, using a tablet.
Fresh thinking, innit. Assuming you can park back-to-back perfectly.
The vans will come in three battery sizes, including a low-cost option, with rapid charging to 80 per cent in less than 30 minutes.
This next bit is pure fantasyland but I’ll share it with you anyway.
Someone at Kia reckons that, within ten years, we’ll be able to buy a van with swappable electromagnetic modules on the back.
So you can have, say, a delivery van by day, a food truck at night and a camper at the weekend.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
The wider Hyundai Motors Group is working on delivery robots and air taxis.
Just give us the basic van, please.
Q&A with Paul Philpott, KIA Chief
WE buy more Kias than anywhere else in Europe and we’re No4 globally, behind the US, South Korea and India.
Here’s five minutes with Kia UK boss Paul Philpott.
WHY is Kia so popular?
We offer everything from a Picanto to an EV9.
We’ve got hatchbacks and SUVs, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs.
So there’s a car for most people.
We’re also blessed with great products.
What we have seen in terms of design, engineering and quality over the last ten years has been phenomenal.
YOU sold a record 108,000 cars in 2023, can you top that this year?
We like step-by-step growth.
Not crazy growth one year that we can’t maintain the next.
We start 2024 with a good order bank and we’re looking to exceed 110,000 cars.
We’re closing the gap on those above us.
It’s a motivational measure but not something that drives our business thinking.
EV9 is next-level good. Will that do the business for you this year?
EV9 can compete with absolutely anything.
Had it been a big diesel SUV I’m not sure we’d have sat alongside Range Rover as a true competitor.
But EVs are levelling the playing field between the volume brands and the premium brands.
Demo cars arrive at dealers this week.
We’re looking to sell around 4,000 EV9s this year.
KIA cars will give Kia vans instant credibility, won’t they?
Now we have established a strong brand footprint in the UK, it is the right time to enter a completely new part of the market for us.
Cars have to remain the centrepiece of our brand.
But there is no reason why, over a longer period of time, we can’t command a similar share of the commercial vehicle market as we do with cars.
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Satnav location, contacts, charge status and other data can be shared van-to-van and back at base
One concept shown at the Consumer Electronics Show was a Robotaxi called PV5-R