Regardless of the naysayers, Kia are pushing ahead with its refreshingly daring electrification technique, main the way in which with the EV4, a sedan for the ages
Whereas click-bait headlines counsel a retreat from electrification – for some OEMs no less than – Kia are firmly nailing their flag to the mast. And that flag is a inexperienced one. On the Korean firm’s second 2025 EV Day occasion, held in Tarragona, Spain, Kia underlined its dedication to electrification, unveiling a number of new fashions, together with the EV4, an all-electric sedan destined for international markets (together with North America). Set to launch in South Korea in 2026, with a North American arrival following shortly after, the EV4 represents a strategic transfer in Kia’s increasing EV lineup.
The manufacturing model builds on an idea first showcased on the Los Angeles Auto Present in November 2023. Constructed on the versatile E-GMP platform – the identical structure underpinning the EV6, EV9, and upcoming EV3 and EV5 fashions – the EV4 gives a tantalizing glimpse into Kia’s proposed electrical future.
Obtainable in each four-door sedan and five-door hatchback codecs, the mannequin will initially goal completely different markets. Whereas each variations will probably be accessible in South Korea, the hatchback is more likely to be reserved completely for Asian and European markets.
Beneath the hood, the EV4 delivers 201 horsepower by front-wheel drive, with no all-wheel-drive configuration confirmed at current. Battery choices embrace two configurations: a 58.3-kWh and an 81.4-kWh pack. European vary estimates counsel 430 km for the smaller battery, with the bigger battery offering a powerful 590 km for the hatchback and 630 km for the four-door variant. North American vary figures are but to be formally introduced, although they’re anticipated to be barely decrease.
Household affair
The inside design facilities round a powerful 30-inch built-in display screen system. Two 12.3-inch shows deal with driver information and multimedia capabilities, complemented by a 5.3-inch aspect display screen. Kia guarantees a extremely customizable interface that goes past conventional infotainment techniques, incorporating streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+, and YouTube, together with an AI-equipped voice assistant. Splendid for these lengthy journeys with stressed youngsters within the again.
Design-wise, the EV4 embodies Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ philosophy [see box]. The saloon variant incorporates a streamlined silhouette with a low bonnet flowing right into a long-tail design. Its entrance finish showcases Kia’s EV Tiger Face, full with vertically oriented headlamps and the model’s Star Map lighting signature. A novel roof spoiler and machined 19-inch wheels with intricate technical stripe patterns full its progressive aesthetic.
The hatchback presents a extra strong look, characterised by contrasting black vertical C-pillars and crisp traces. Sturdy fenders and geometric patterns on the decrease physique sections emphasize its modern nature. Huge-positioned taillights and a sloping rear window create a clear, dynamic profile.
For fans searching for a sportier look, Kia can supply them the EV4 GT-Line. This variant options unique design components, together with wing-shaped entrance and rear bumpers and triangular-motif 19-inch wheels that improve its futuristic enchantment.
And for the extra wise, practicality hasn’t been ignored both. The sedan variant supplies 490 litres of trunk house, addressing issues about electrical autos’ utility. Emphasizing the automobile’s broader mission, Govt Vice President and Head of Kia International Design, Karim Habib stated, “The Kia EV4 is a transparent reflection of our dedication to rethink mobility, and develop the boundaries of what design can obtain. By providing each saloon and hatchback variants, we’re bringing to our clients the distinctive expertise of modernity and practicality that defines the Kia EV household.”
Versatile energy
This give attention to performance aligns with Kia President and CEO Ho Sung Tune’s imaginative and prescient of democratizing electrical automobile possession, and the EV4’s unveiling was a part of a broader technique presentation on the EV Day. To showcase the corporate’s dedication to EVs, the occasion additionally introduced the PV5 – Kia’s first devoted Platform Past Automobile mannequin – and the Idea EV2, a possible B-segment electrical SUV.
Kia’s need this method to indicate that it has a nuanced understanding of world market calls for. By providing a number of variants and specializing in design that balances practicality with innovation, the EV4 targets a various vary of drivers. It builds on the success of earlier electrical fashions just like the EV9 and EV6, which have garnered vital acclaim within the automotive world.
Even the selection of Tarragona because the occasion location underscored the significance of the European EV market. With 9 autos on show – together with 4 variations of the EV4 – Kia demonstrated each the mannequin’s versatility in addition to the model’s broader electrification technique. It was a press release of intent, exhibiting that, regardless of murmurs of discontent from different OEMs, that EVs are sensible, accessible, and designed to fulfill the evolving wants of world customers.
With its mixture of forward-thinking design, technological innovation, and sensible issues, the EV4 ought to – its creators hope – make a big impression within the EV market. The corporate has already had large success with the EV6 and EV9, the latter being topped World Automobile of the 12 months 2024, and so they’re assured that the EV4 will probably be equally embraced. They’ve each proper to be.
Counter intuitive
Within the quickly evolving world of automotive engineering, Kia’s ‘Opposites United’ philosophy represents a radical departure from conventional design pondering. For the Korean firm this isn’t merely a advertising and marketing slogan or a faddy aesthetic development, however a complicated method to product improvement that basically reimagines how autos are conceived, designed, and engineered.
At its essence, the philosophy challenges the automotive trade’s longstanding tendency to view design components as mutually unique. The place typical knowledge would possibly see contradictions, Kia’s engineers see alternatives for innovation. The method intentionally creates pressure between seemingly incompatible traits – softness and sharpness, technological precision and natural fluidity, effectivity and emotional expression.
The corporate holds up the EV4 as an ideal embodiment of this design precept. Take its exterior: the automobile concurrently presents a low, streamlined bonnet that implies aerodynamic effectivity, whereas strong fenders talk structural energy and solidity. Counter intuitively, the 2 issues can coexist in a single automobile.
This philosophy runs by Kia’s PV5 platform. Right here’s a automobile that’s concurrently mounted and fluid, engineered to rework seamlessly between cargo transport, passenger automobile, and specialised configurations. It’s a direct problem to the notion {that a} automobile should be constrained by a single, predetermined goal.
Battery design emerges as one other enviornment the place ‘Opposites United’ might be seen in motion. Kia’s engineers have developed options that maximize vitality density whereas sustaining distinctive thermal administration, integrating superior supplies which are concurrently light-weight and structurally strong. It’s an method that turns conventional trade-offs into alternatives for innovation.
As an alternative of seeing constraints as limitations, Kia’s method transforms them into inventive catalysts. Every design resolution turns into a chance to problem present paradigms, to create options which are extra adaptive, extra environment friendly, and extra holistically built-in than conventional approaches would enable. For Kia, ‘Opposites United’ means that probably the most modern options emerge not from selecting between opposing forces, however from discovering the extraordinary potential that exists of their dynamic interplay.
