All-new Kia PV7 electric van teased

Kia has pulled the covers off its next electric van – or at least teased it liberally. The Korean brand has released its first official images of the PV7, the second model in its all-electric Platform Beyond Vehicle or PBV family and the bigger sibling to the $55,990 Kia PV5 Cargo that arrived here mid-year.

Where the PV5 kicked things off, the PV7 goes bigger, pushing Kia’s PBV range into the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment with more room and grunt for business and lifestyle buyers alike. It wears that same one-box silhouette, a blacked-out hood and pillar garnish, and Kia’s now-signature front and rear lamp graphics.

But it’s the mood of the teasers that grabs our attention. Rather than dwell on delivery-van duties, Kia’s imagery leans into camping chairs and a steaming pot of coffee – a not-so-subtle hint that a people-friendly passenger version is on the cards, just as the PV5 spawned its seven-seat Passenger wagon.

If Kia follows the PV5 script, expect the eventual passenger PV7 to swap panel-van practicality for rows of seats.

For reference, the incoming PV5 Passenger has been approved here as a seven-seater running a 71.2kWh CATL battery, a 120kW/250Nm e-motor driving the front-wheels, with a 416km WLTP range in Cargo guise.

Pricing tipped to land between $60,000 and $70,000 – potentially Australia’s cheapest electric people-mover.

The PV7 shares the same dedicated E-GMP.S architecture, so a similar (if beefier) electric hardware set seems likely, though Kia is keeping the numbers under wraps until Hannover.

The PV7 makes its global debut at IAA Transportation in Hannover, Germany, on September 14, where Kia will also roll out a suite of PV5 derivatives to show off the breadth of its PBV plan.

As for Australia? Kia hasn’t confirmed the PV7 locally, but with the PV5 Cargo already on sale here, the PV5 Passenger approved and Kia Australia making no secret of its electric van ambitions, we would be surprised if the PV7 didn’t eventually follow the family Down Under.

For now, we wait on specs, pricing and timing – which should firm up once the covers come off in Hannover.