The New Kia PV5 Is a Blocky Electric Family Hauler
A few years ago, I made the ill-advised decision to place a deposit for the then-exciting Canoo van. While I’ll never, ever see that vehicle due to the company’s recent bankruptcy, Kia just revealed what could be a worthy replacement. The Korean automaker’s new PV5 van is funky and boxy in all the right ways, and the production version is finally ready.
The van didn’t change a ton from the concept Kia showed at the CES show in 2024, retaining its blocky look and beefy proportions. Kia’s teaser images showed passenger and cargo variants, but we haven’t gotten a look at the van’s interiors yet. It rides on a dedicated EV platform and was developed from the start as an electric van, so it’s not an EV retrofit of the Kia Carnival minivan.
More exciting than the van itself is Kia’s potential expansion of the model line using the platform. The automaker has shown a concept truck on the architecture, so we could see something funky like the classic Chevy Corvair Rampside trucks of the 1960s.
Kia plans to fully reveal the PV5 on February 24 at its Kia EV day in Spain and said it would release more specifications at the event. A global release will likely follow later this year, though we don’t yet know if the van will make its way stateside anytime soon.
[Images: Kia]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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I'll be shocked, in a good way, if this comes to the US.
The big family hauler is best used for long trips with luggage, and electric is not the way to go. It makes some sense for hauling a student sports team short distances, so schools would be the customers, not families. For both, a hybrid version makes the most sense.