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 recommend a retreat from electrification – for some OEMs at the very least – 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 world 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.
Out there in each four-door sedan and five-door hatchback codecs, the mannequin will initially goal completely different markets. Whereas each variations might be accessible in South Korea, the hatchback is prone to be reserved completely for Asian and European markets.
Below the hood, the EV4 delivers 201 horsepower via front-wheel drive, with no all-wheel-drive configuration confirmed at current. Battery choices embody two configurations: a 58.3-kWh and an 81.4-kWh pack. European vary estimates recommend 430 km for the smaller battery, with the bigger battery offering a formidable 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 formidable 30-inch built-in display system. Two 12.3-inch shows deal with driver information and multimedia features, complemented by a 5.3-inch aspect display. 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. Excellent for these lengthy journeys with stressed kids 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 sturdy look, characterised by contrasting black vertical C-pillars and crisp strains. Sturdy fenders and geometric patterns on the decrease physique sections emphasize its revolutionary nature. Large-positioned taillights and a sloping rear window create a clear, dynamic profile.
For lovers looking for a sportier look, Kia can provide 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 automobiles’ utility. Emphasizing the car’s broader mission, Government Vice President and Head of Kia World Design, Karim Habib mentioned, “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 car 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 offered the PV5 – Kia’s first devoted Platform Past Car mannequin – and the Idea EV2, a possible B-segment electrical SUV.
Kia’s need this method to point out 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 automobiles 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, displaying that, regardless of murmurs of discontent from different OEMs, that EVs are sensible, accessible, and designed to satisfy the evolving wants of world shoppers.
With its mixture of forward-thinking design, technological innovation, and sensible issues, the EV4 ought to – its creators hope – make a big influence within the EV market. The corporate has already had large success with the EV6 and EV9, the latter being topped World Automotive of the Yr 2024, they usually’re assured that the EV4 might 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 slogan or a faddy aesthetic development, however a complicated method to product improvement that basically reimagines how automobiles are conceived, designed, and engineered.
At its essence, the philosophy challenges the automotive business’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 stress 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 car concurrently presents a low, streamlined bonnet that means aerodynamic effectivity, whereas sturdy fenders talk structural energy and solidity. Counter intuitively, the 2 issues can coexist in a single car.
This philosophy runs via Kia’s PV5 platform. Right here’s a car that’s concurrently fastened and fluid, engineered to rework seamlessly between cargo transport, passenger car, and specialised configurations. It’s a direct problem to the notion {that a} car have to be constrained by a single, predetermined objective.
Battery design emerges as one other area the place ‘Opposites United’ could be seen in motion. Kia’s engineers have developed options that maximize vitality density whereas sustaining distinctive thermal administration, integrating superior supplies which can be concurrently light-weight and structurally sturdy. It’s an method that turns conventional trade-offs into alternatives for innovation.
As a substitute of seeing constraints as limitations, Kia’s method transforms them into inventive catalysts. Every design determination turns into a possibility to problem current paradigms, to create options which can be extra adaptive, extra environment friendly, and extra holistically built-in than conventional approaches would enable. For Kia, ‘Opposites United’ means that essentially the most revolutionary options emerge not from selecting between opposing forces, however from discovering the extraordinary potential that exists of their dynamic interplay.
