The Kia PV5 Electric Van Has Something for Everyone

The 2025 Kia EV Day event in Spain isn’t just about the EV2 concept and EV4. The business-focused Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) is also celebrating its premiere, and the car-derived PV5 leads the way. Customers can choose from three distinct flavors: Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab. The latter is based on the Cargo and is highly customizable: food truck, freezer box, crew van, camper, dropside van, and a Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV).

At 183.4 inches (4659 millimeters) long, 74.6 inches (1895 millimeters) wide, and 74.7 inches (1899 millimeters) tall, it’s slightly smaller than a standard-wheelbase Volkswagen ID. Buzz. All flavors of the Kia PV5 measure 117.9 inches (2995 millimeters) between the axles, which is a smidge more than VW’s retro-flavored electric van. As many as eight people fit inside the Passenger model in a three-row layout (2-3-3) with a lift-up tailgate.

The electric workhorse ushers in the E-GMP.S platform, derived from the E-GMP architecture used on many Kia, Hyundai, and Genesis products. But while most of those EVs (and the VW ID. Buzz) start with rear-wheel drive and add a front motor for some versions, the PV5 is a front-wheel-drive-only affair. The single-motor setup produces 161 horsepower (120 kilowatts) and 184 pound-feet (250 Newton-meters) of torque.

Kia has engineered the PV5 to accommodate three batteries: 51.5 kWh and 71.2 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NCM) packs for all versions, plus a 43.3 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) optional battery exclusive to the Cargo. The Korean brand quotes a maximum range of 249 miles (400 kilometers) on the WLTP cycle for the Passenger model with the bigger battery. Juicing the battery from 10% to 80% will take half an hour.

Unlike most Kia models, where the digital instrument cluster merges with the infotainment, the driver’s 7-inch display is separate from the 12.9-inch touchscreen. There are still some hard buttons lower on the center console for quick access. The PV5 WAV we mentioned earlier features a ramp that can withstand 661 pounds (300 kilograms). The Cargo model has a maximum cargo space of 5.1 m³ and can fit two Euro pallets.

Kia will sell the PV5 in Europe and Korea in the second half of the year, with other regions following in 2026. Although the 25% Chicken Tax would hit the van in North America, Kia’s President and CEO, Ho Sung Song, said during the 2025 Kia EV Day that the company will try to find a way to bring the PV5 to the United States.

Since this new van is called the PV5, it leaves room for bigger and smaller models as part of an expanded Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) lineup.