Kia opens UK order books for the PV5 Cargo

Kia is about to launch its first electric transporter, the PV5 Cargo, on the European market. Kia has already open its pre-order books in the UK, and will launch in other European markets ‘shortly’.

As reported, the PV5 Cargo is the first model from the brand’s ‘Platform Beyond Vehicle’ strategy, which is aimed at innovative electric commercial vehicles based on its own platform. At the IAA Transportation in September 2024, the South Korean company presented four concepts of their PBV vehicles – the PV5 was already confirmed as the premiere model at the time, but a larger and a smaller model have already been announced with the PV1 and PV7.

The PV5 is a 4.70 metre long electric van, which is very similar in length to a VW ID. Buzz with the standard wheelbase. The comparison with the ID. Buzz fits well on the one hand, because both models are not derived from combustion engine models (in order to achieve the highest possible unit numbers), as is the case with many of the competition, but are purely electric platforms. On the other hand, there is one major difference: with the MEB, the VW is based on a platform that was actually designed for passenger cars and therefore has to make compromises – even the ID. Buzz Cargo only has a payload of 500 kilograms. At Kia, on the other hand, the PBV models do not use the E-GMP of the electric cars, but their own platform optimised for light commercial vehicles, the E-GMP.S. On this basis, vehicles are to be available ‘in a wide range of variants’ – including a passenger version for driving services, but also other superstructures thanks to the modular body system.

In the UK, the Kia PV5 Cargo can be pre-ordered in the ‘Essential’ configuration from £27,645 net with a 51.5 kWh standard range battery. With the Long Range battery, the base price goes up to £30,145. To compare, the ID. Buzz Cargo is offered in the UK at £31,380 net, but has a 79 kWh battery, 185 kW charging power and 210 kW drive power. For the PV5 Passenger in the basic ‘Essential’ trim, Kia UK is asking £32,995. The prices of the higher-value ‘Plus’ trim are not mentioned in the press release.

Further variants to follow from 2026

Customer deliveries of the PV5 Cargo are set to begin in “late 2025.” Kia UK further writes that “Other PV5 Cargo variants, as well as PV5 Crew and PV5 Chassis Cab, pricing will be revealed later this year.” There is also no information on the market launch or price of the other battery variants. The version mentioned is the medium, 51.5 kWh battery, but the 71.2 kWh long-range battery will also be available at launch. A 43.3 kWh LFP battery (especially for delivery services with a defined area of use) is to follow later, but only for the PV5 Cargo, not the PV5 Passenger.

The PV5 has a 400-volt system, the DC charging capacity will probably not exceed 150 kW, as Kia writes: “When connected to a 150kW charging point, the PV5’s battery (both standard range or long range) can be topped up from 10-to-80% in less than 30 minutes,” wrote Kia UK. This is hardly surprising: the Kia EV3 on the 400-volt passenger car version of the platform has a maximum charging capacity of 130 kW with its 81.4 kWh battery, almost exactly half of what is currently possible with the 800-volt e-GMP electric vehicles (up to 260 kW in the Hyundai Ioniq5/Kia EV6).

kiapressoffice.com (PV5 Cargo), kiapressoffice.com (PV5 Passenger)