SPY PICS: 2024 Kia EV4 spotted in Europe

What will almost certainly become the most affordable electric vehicle from Kia to date has just been caught testing on public roads for the first time, ahead of its expected reveal and market launch next year.

This 2024 Kia EV4 was spotted by our European spy photographers wrapped in dense camouflage, but there’s no hiding the fact it resembles a pint-size Kia EV9 in just about every facet of its design, including the matching vertical headlight clusters, triangular wheel motifs and boxy overall silhouette.

Obviously the EV4 is much smaller than the EV9 and won’t have room for seven people, but it’s pleasing to see Kia is backing its blocky new electric SUV design language, with the only outlier at the moment being the long-slung EV6 crossover.

Just as the upcoming EV5 will be an all-electric alternative to the Sportage, the EV4 will be the zero-emissions equivalent of the uber-popular Kia Seltos and could well replace the Niro EV in most major markets, including Australia.

carsales understands Kia Australia accepted the Niro into its local portfolio on the basis that it could, a move which gave the Korean brand an early entry into Aussie EV market while the first e-GMP models were still being developed.

Kia Australia executives have previously said they have no intention of engaging in a price war with the increasingly abundant Chinese EV providers, but that the EV4 would one day serve as the new entry point to Kia’s electric vehicle range, meaning it will undercut the Niro EV’s current $64,450 starting price.

In order to do that it’s likely the EV4 will feature a 400V electrical architecture instead of the 800V system offered in Kia’s other e-GMP models and come exclusively with a single-motor powertrain – unless a high-performance GT version materialises down the line.

A sub-$60,000 starting price has previously been floated by those in the know and would put the EV4 into direct competition with the Volvo EX30, which is due to arrive Down Under at the end of this year.

The Volvo will be offered in three flavours from launch, with the local line-up set to be crested by the 315kW/543Nm Twin Performance Extra variant ($69,990.

Perhaps more importantly, the base EX30 is good for up to 480km on a single charge.

Other rivals for the EV4 will include the new Peugeot e-2008 and upcoming Ford Puma EV.

For everything you auto know about EVs, listen to carsales' Watts Under the Bonnet: the electric car podcast

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