Full-out push with Kia’s first China-made car.

LOOKING up even when the electric car market is down - that seems to be Kia approach with it’s next battery-dedicated car, the EV5.

Four trim levels of this new sports utility, with similar proportions to the Kia Sportage and styled to look like a smaller version of the blocky EV9 seven-seater, are incoming, pricing from $67,990 through to $85,450.

All providing with an 88kWh lithium ion phosphate battery not only confirms sourcing is from China, but also shows talk of a base car with a 64kWh battery was a red herring.

The flagship GT-Line and a next step down Earth Long Range are dual motor all-wheel-drive, with outputs of 230 kiloWatts’ power and 480 Newton metres’ torque.

Everything else - the entry Light, next step up Light Plus, and another Earth - come with a single front-mounted, front-drive motor, making 160kW/310Nm.

Expectation is high production versions of the EV5 Kia New Zealand intends to have on sale from June or thereabouts will come from China, a first for the South Korea-domiciled make.

The brand has quietly slipped out pricing to prospective customers - but not yet in a media share - in time for a national tour of an example of the medium sports utility.

EV5 is expected to go on sale from June, but there’s talk not every derivative will be immediately available. Australia, which looks set to take much the same line-up as NZ, has signalled the flagship won’t be in production until the last quarter.

The NZ market specification confirms the demo car doing the rounds has come from South Korea, so is effectively an orphan to NZ customers. Korea-sourced EV5s differ in drivetrain performance and battery type, and are said to offer lower range and performance. 

At same token, the ranges cited by Kia NZ are much lower than those Kia headquarters cited at the car’s international unveiling, where an optimal 700km-plus was indicated.

Dealer-sourced information shared to MotoringNZ by a potential buyer cites the rear-drive product - that Light, the Light Plus that carries a $2550 premium and a $75,450 Earth Long Range - as having a range of 540 kilometres as measured by the WLTP scale.

The AWD models, an $80,450 Earth Long Range and the GT-Line, will deliver 500km.

In December, MotoringNZ.com reported dealers have been advised the EV5 will be the first Korean car sold here to source from China, to enable a cost advantage and also bring the car to market up to a year sooner than the parent can manage from its home factory. 

The factory is at Yancheng city, Jiangsu province. Other firsts for the type includes it having a dedicated EV platform called N3 eK which is a modularised front and rear chassis (different to the EV6 and EV9 E-GMP) and it also utilises a LFP battery for hugh efficiency. The battery is from BYD, a technical partner on this project.

EV5 is already on sale in China, selling for less than half as much as the best-selling Tesla Model Y, which starts at $67,500 here.

The NZ pricing shows it won’t compete against the cheapest electrics from a Chinese domestic brand, the GWM Ora, at $42,990 in standard range and $47,990 in long range, but is also siting to be an option to the cheapest Kia electric at the moment. That’s the Niro Plus, at $64,990. 

It also undercuts the least expensive car on the E-GMP platform EV5 builds on - the EV6, at $76,990. The considerably more expensive new EV9 is also an E-GMP car.

EV-5 bases on a 400-volt electric architecture rather than the E-GMP 800-volt platform, meaning its charging speeds will be slower but still capable of accepting up to 141kW.

EV5 also appears to be the first Kia here will ability to accept over the air updates, with a Kia Connect phone app.

The entry specification involves 18 inch alloys, LED headlamps, smart cruise control, a highway driving assist, sat nav on a 12.3 inch screen, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, dual zone climate, a six-speaker stereo, smart key and a cloth seat trim.

The Light Plus adds blindspot view monitor, 360 view camera, parking collision assist, remote smart park assist, front side and rear parking sensors, electric folding exterior mirrors, a cloth and leather blend trim and power adjust for the driver’s seat.

The Earth derivatives have 19 inch alloys, privacy glass, power child safety door locks, safe exit assist, smart power tailgate, artificial leather, heated front seats, a heads-up display, wireless charger, V2L function and a heat pump.

GT-Line takes 20-inch alloys, a specific exterior trim, panoramic sunroof, sequential front and rear turn signals, power front passenger seat, driver’s memory seat function with ventilation, massage function, an eight-speaker Harman-Kardon stereo, fingerprint recognition, ambient mood lighting, alloy pedals and a console box with cooling.