Kia is now Britain’s fourth favourite car brand, outselling even Ford in 2024. Now the Korean brand is taking on the van market, revealing the all-electric Kia PV5, a challenger to the mighty Ford Transit.
The new Kia PV5 was one of three van concepts revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last year and will be the first to go on sale in the UK later this year.
So far, only the cargo and passenger versions of the PV5 have been revealed but, as with the Ford Transit and other light commercial vehicles (LCVs as they’re also known), the PV5 will be available in three body styles for a variety of derivatives or conversions.
Key to the Kia PV5’s success will be details like its payload and running costs, but Kia’s success with its range of EV cars stands it in good stead against a growing number of all-electric vans currently available and coming soon.
We should get more details on the all-important numbers soon, but for now this is just a reveal of two body styles and the PV5 family look.
The design of both models is certainly striking, and very Kia. Signature LED lighting rises from the sides of the short, stubby bonnet up to the van’s A-pillars, with disguised headlights set lower down near a beefy bumper.
There’s almost an SUV style along the side with black cladding around the wheel arches that flows along the sills. The upper sides are far more minimalist, with the PV5 Cargo getting a squarer body for maximum load space.
The cargo model also gets twin rear doors, while the passenger van gets a single lift-up arrangement and some more car-like detailing. Both versions get a deep windscreen and even deeper side windows for improved visibility.
Kia’s design boss Karim Habib said, “while the PV5 is offered in three different body styles to provide innovative solutions for a diverse range of customer needs, they all embody the same consistent design values. Each model confidently expresses a solid, bold, futuristic character and a highly capable attitude.”
Although the electric van market was static in 2024, LCV sales grew by three per cent in 2024. The Ford Transit Custom – the key target for Kia’s PV5 – was the top seller with 46,967 models sold last year. That made the Transit Custom the UK’s third best-selling vehicle in 2024, behind the Ford Puma (48,340) and Kia Sportage (47,163).
