Kia EV5 lands in China with surprisingly low, affordable price for small electric SUV

Last week, Kia unveiled its upcoming five-seater electric SUV model, called the EV5. This week more details surrounding the model were released, including the surprisingly low price. 

The first official market for this small electric SUV will be the world’s largest EV market, China, where the model will debut starting at just 159,800 RMB or the equivalent of less than $A34,000. 

The top-of-the-range model will be priced at 229,800 RMB, which is equivalent to $A49,600. Kia shared the new price point on its official weibo social media page.

At these prices, the newest model from Kia will undercut the very popular Tesla Model Y RWD variant which starts at 263,900 RMB. 

It’s also priced slightly above the BYD Yuan Plus (Atto 3 in Australia) which starts at 139,800 RMB according to cnevpost after the price cuts it received earlier this year.

The Kia EV5 was first unveiled last week at the Chengdu Motor Show in China. At the unveiling, Kia made it clear that the brand was focusing on younger buyers with this smaller electric SUV.

It’s first expected to go on sale in China before launching in global markets across China. No details have yet been released on the model’s launch in other markets. More details are expected to be revealed by the brand by October.

From what is known about the car so far, it will based on Hyundai Group’s E-GMP EV platform which offers an 800-Volt architecture. 

This is the same platform as the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Both these models are available in the Australian market and have been quite popular, particularly for early adopters.

The new EV5 also varies from the more affordable e-Niro EV which locally starts at over $65,000 before on-roads in Australia. It offers a sleeker look inspired by the upcoming 7-seater EV9 SUV.

Given the recently released pricing in China, this model may undercut the e-Niro in Australia while offering an upgrade on the underpinnings of this EV. That of course depends on if the new model will eventually make its way to Australia in 2024 which is yet to be confirmed.

On the outside, it looks similar to the bigger EV9, yet offers a compact design. There are nine colours on offer including a matte option which Kia calls “Ivory Silver”.

On the inside, the focus appears to be on offering practical space for families. There is also interior lighting on offer with 64 colours to choose from. 

With just over a month to go until announcements on global launch, specifications and availability will be made, it’s good to get the pricing of the car in a highly competitive market like China.

Although it’s unlikely that the pricing will carry over to other markets, it’s good to see Kia now offering ground-up EVs that offer unique designs while shifting the needle on affordability.