Impressions of interest are being taken for the brand’s first electric sedan.

INTENTION for the next electric out of Kia, a highly stylish fastback road car only just unveiled internationally, has taken a new twist.

The national distributor’s deflection of media inquiry in respect to the EV4 since it revealed to the world just under a fortnight ago has been undone by its own website.

This confirms Kia New Zealand has signed up for at least one of the two body styles of this equivalent to the Tesla Model 3 and potentially, an alternate to the Ioniq 6 electric sedan, from sister brand Hyundai, though it is physically smaller.

The Auckland-based distributor website this week updated to include the EV4 to the list of available products, with a notation that it is “expected Q3 2025.”

The page shows the sedan styling, which has sleeker lines than the alternate hatch and could almost be called a fastback.

Mouse-clicking on an image of the car takes a user to a bespoke page, that calls the car “the fourth addition to our EV line-up, arriving 2025.” The page also facilitates opportunity for potential buyers to sign up.

EV4 shares underpinnings with the EV3 compact sports utility Kiwis are becoming familiar with in standard car and up-spec GT-Line formats.

The platform presently provisions with a 150kW/283Nm electric motor on the front axle with the choice of a 58.3kWh standard battery or an 81.4kWh long-range battery.

This is the 400 volt version of the E-GMP electric-vehicle underpinning, using nickel-manganese-cobalt battery packs, rather than the 800 volt set used by larger Kia and Hyundai products.

All Kia EVs are destined to receive hot GT versions, so a dual-motor, four-wheel-drive range-topper with is expected down the line. Overseas’ reports say this will be a 250kW/470Nm grade capable of 0-100kmh acceleration in six seconds.

Kia says the standard cars’ smaller battery will provide a WLTP-tested range of up to 436km, while the larger unit will see up to 605km. A 10-80 percent charge takes at least 29 minutes for the smaller battery and at least 31 minutes for the larger one.

The car was originally proposed by a five-door hatchback concept shown in 2023 and unveiling in Spain last week confirmed little will change for that format in production form.

The sedan is more favoured for this part of the world as it comes from South Korea, whereas the hatchback will be manufactured in Slovakia, primarily for the European market.

Unsurprisingly, EV4 wears styling elements from other Kia models, including an aerodynamics-friendly sloping front end with 'Star Map' vertical LED headlights.

The sedan has an upswept tail and vertical tail-lights, while the hatchback has a more conventional rear end with L-shaped lights and distinctive black trim running over the roof.

The image used in the Kia NZ website is of the sedan in a GT-Line trim. This adds sportier front and rear bumpers and a unique design for the 19-inch alloy wheels.

Overseas’ observation is that the interior is very close to that in the EV3, with with dual 12.3-inch screens, a 5.0-inch climate-control display, and recycled or eco-friendly materials throughout the cabin.