Kia unveils design of EV5, its first China-made global electric car

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, on Friday unveiled the design of the EV5, its first China-made all-electric vehicle that the company plans to sell globally.

Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor Co., said the new EV represents the carmaker’s resolve to play a key role in China’s electrification push in the world’s largest EV market.

“Achieving success in China is the core objective of our global strategy. With the EV5 at the forefront, we’ll accelerate our electrification transition and provide our customers with new experiences and inspiration,” said Kim Kyung-hyun, vice president and general manager of Kia China.

Kia premiered the design of the all-electric compact SUV at the Chengdu Motor Show, where it also showcased nine other EV models, including the EV6 and high-performance EV6 GT.

The EV5, the concept of which was revealed at the Kia China EV Day in March, is the company’s first electric model to be produced in China. Details of the EV5 will be announced during another Kia EV day in Korea this October.

The strategic model will be manufactured by that Kia-Yueda joint venture at their Yancheng plant, about a three-hour drive north of Shanghai. The EV5 will initially be sold domestically and then be exported to other global markets.

‘OPPOSITES UNITED’ DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

The EV5 is Kia’s third model that sits on Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated EV platform, the E-GMP, following the EV6 unveiled in 2021 and the EV9 launched in June this year.

Kia said the EV5 brings a new era of electric mobility to the compact SUV sector to meet the needs of millennial families.

The company said it drew inspiration for the new EV from the brand’s “Opposites United” design philosophy that embodies its shift toward electrification.

To enhance its front exterior design, the EV5 incorporated three-dimensional “Signature Star Map Lighting,” its daytime running lights. Inspired by star-studded constellations, the EV5 introduces a dynamic shape along the lamp line, emphasizing the new vehicle’s “Tiger Face” design.

“The Kia EV5 was created to redefine the compact SUV genre with a form shaped by Kia’s unique design philosophy ‘Opposites United,’” said Karim Habib, executive vice president and head of Kia Global Design Center.

AIMS TO REVIVE CHINA SALES

Just like its sister firm Hyundai Motor, Kia has been struggling in China amid aggressive marketing by global rivals and in the aftermath of a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment in Korea of a US anti-missile system in 2017.

At its peak, Kia operated three car manufacturing plants in Yancheng. In 2019, it sold off a factory and has since realigned the other two to largely produce electric vehicles.

The company plans to launch two electric models – the EV5 and EV6 – by the end of this year and the larger EV9 flagship SUV next year.

Kia hopes to unveil at least one E-GMP-based electric vehicle every year to reach six EV models on the Chinese market by 2027 and strive to sell 180,000 EVs annually by 2030.

Earlier this week, Hyundai Motor said its Chinese JV, Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., has put its Chongqing plant up for sale as it continues its rigorous restructuring to survive in the world’s largest auto market.

Beijing Hyundai, a JV with China’s BAIC Motor Corp., is selling the factory’s land use rights, equipment and other facilities in the southwestern city of Chongqing, at a starting price of 3.68 billion yuan, or $505 million, media reports said.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.