Kia EV2 under development

The Kia EV2 currently undergoing development could usher in a new level of EV affordability for the Korean brand’s fast-growing stable of electric cars.

Kia president and CEO Ho Sung Song has flagged the possibility that the EV2 would be priced from about $US25,000 – something that could translate to an Australian start price of about $40,000.

That’s well below the prices for the upcoming EV3, EV4 and EV5, which are expected to kick off from about $50,000, $55,000 and $60,000 respectively.

If that circa-$US25K pricing materialises it would give Kia a rival to tackle the latest trio of affordable newcomers such as the MG4, GWM Ora and BYD Dolphin.

“Our ultimate aim is to provide Kia’s unique value to as many people as possible,” said Ho Sung Song.

Other than confirming it is under development, Kia hasn’t gone into details about the new EV2, but this week reaffirmed the sentiment with a short statement.

“The Kia EV2 will be produced in 2025 at the Slovakia plant along with other electric models,” said Kia.

It’s unclear if the EV2 will also be produced in other Kia plants (another potential is a soon-to-come-online new production facility in India), which is something that could be appealing to Kia Australia given the five per cent import tariff slapped on cars out of Europe.

What is not known yet is the make-up of the EV2.

Clearly it will be the smallest of the seven planned EV-branded models Kia has promised (others including EV3, EV4, EV5, EV6 and EV9) as part of an overall EV family of 15 vehicles (eventually including the Kia Tasman ute).

And a small SUV or crossover seems a logical choice and it would likely leverage the bold “opposites united” design theme on show in the EV3, EV5 and EV9.

As with other Kia EVs, we’d also expect the EV2 to ride on the E-GMP architecture that underpins Hyundai and Genesis models.

But the big question will be the price – and, to some extent, Kia Australia’s desire to play in the cut-throat budget end of the EV market.

Earlier in 2023 Kia Australia product planning boss Roland Rivero said he wasn’t convinced that Kia should be playing in such a price-sensitive sector of the market, at least in the short-term.

“Where EVs’ roles are at the moment is more so aspirational… maybe down the track as that range gets bigger and bigger [we could look at sub-$50,000 EVs],” said Rivero at the time.

That’s particularly pertinent given the success Kia has had in repositioning its brand, with the EV6 and upcoming EV9 being a key part of that.

Yet at the same time Kia will no doubt want to snare a slice of the affordable end of the EV market, while at the same time reinforcing its value proposition.

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